Columbus activists prepare for Justice Day at the Capitol

Criminal justice remains a growing concern across the nation due to a overcrowded prison system costing taxpayers billions of dollars.

And let’s not forget the human toll of millions of lives ruined because of drug offenses and the criminalization of mental illness.

On Feb. 2, a group of activists from Columbus and other cities will go to the state capital to voice their concerns about such matters.

The event, called Justice Day at the Capitol, is being organized by the Georgia Justice Project, which promotes criminal justice reform and best practices for transitioning ex-prisoners back into the community.

The group will meet with state legislators from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. to discuss justice reform issues.

Participating organizations include the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Georgia State Conference, Southern Center for Human Rights, Interfaith Children’s Movement, ACLU, Georgia Appleseed, Georgia Public Policy Foundation, and Emory Law School Barton Child Law and Policy Center.

The Columbus branch of the NAACP is organizing free, round-trip transportation to Atlanta in partnership with other concerned citizens, according to information posted on Facebook. The group will leave from Columbus at 6:30 a.m. with breakfast and lunch provided.

Gov. Nathan Deal has already made criminal justice reform a priority throughout the state, reducing the number of prisoners in the state from about 63,000 to 58,000 through accountability courts and other programs, according to information provided by his administration.

When the governor entered office, one in 13 adults were under some form of correctional supervision, compared to the national average of one in 21. The corrections budget was $1.2 billion and growing.

The governor has been trying to reverse that trend with the help churches and other community organizations.

“One of the things we found is, of those coming into the prison system, a majority of them were coming in for non-violent, drug-related offenses,” said David Jordan, faith and community partnership coordinator for the Governor’s Initiative of Transition, Support and Reentry, in a previous interview. “We were putting people in prison who weren’t criminally minded, but they were behaving criminally as a result of their addiction. And the reality is, if you can take care of the addiction and get them in recovery, for many of those, the criminal behavior goes away.”

One way citizens can make a difference is by voicing their concerns. Justice Day at the Capitol might be one way to get involved. To register, go to http://www.gjp.org/advocacy/2017-justice-day/ , or call 404- 827-0027, ext. 259.

This story was originally published December 29, 2016 at 2:01 PM with the headline "Columbus activists prepare for Justice Day at the Capitol."