- Kentucky's legal system is in crisis.
- Someone can make one
mistake at 18 years of age
and that felony will follow
them for the rest of their life.
- Jails are packed beyond capacity.
I always slept on the floor
because they're so overcrowded.
- What our society is missing out on
by not giving second chances is potential
for people to be great.
- The Smart Justice Advocates
is a volunteer group
of formerly incarcerated individuals.
We draft bills, meet with lawmakers,
and work on criminal justice reform.
- When they come together,
the Smart Justice Advocates
turn their lived experiences
into strength in the fight
to reform a broken system.
- Morning.
I am Savvy Chavez and I
have a pardon application.
It is a process, I do
believe minds can be changed.
(clapping)
- I'm Kentucky and I
deserve a second chance.
- So I wanna welcome everybody
to the Smart Justice Advocates meeting.
We're going to....
- Everyone in Smart Justice Advocates
has their own experiences with
the criminal justice system.
- We hope to change the
narrative around folks
that are currently and
formally incarcerated.
- There is a bill filed
to automatically expunge
acquittals and dismissals, who's in favor?
- Looks like a consensus.
- All right, okay yeah.
- Every week, the Smart Justice Advocates
go to the capital and speak with lawmakers
about the criminal legal system
and how their unique pasts inform ideas
on how it could be changed for the better.
- I was a prosecutor in
Jefferson's district court.
Right around 2009, things got out of hand.
I was charged with a DUI.
Losing my job led to becoming homeless.
I was caught up in the system.
(bangs)
And the judge told me, pay
the fine, or go to jail.
And I can remember saying
that to people myself,
but I don't have it.
Oh, we're really making
this difficult for people.
- As a defendant, Kungo
experienced first hand
the unfair aspects of the justice system.
Now as a Smart Justice
Advocate, he's empowered
to lobby for bail reform.
- You really learn the
power of the commonwealth,
when the judge is telling you,
you gotta have 500 dollars
or she's gonna put you in jail.
I get it, I always used to
think some of those people
who came before me, oh
I don't have the money,
I was like, oh you've got it.
- Yeah.
- And then to be in it, I'm like,
oh wait, these fines are too high.
- I'm for almost any
criminal justice reform
you can name, I'm for it.
- In many ways, criminal justice reform
in Kentucky is bipartisan.
(chatting)
- When I go into these meetings,
I try to humanize them the same way
I want them to humanize me.
(laughting)
It's amazing how we have been able
to change some folks minds.
- Last year we worked
on voting restoration.
We've also been advocates around a bill,
for folks to be able to expunge
felony offenses from their record.
It isn't as expansive
as we wanted it to be.
But it's still a step
in the right direction.
(slow music)
- We have to change the conversation
on criminal justice reform.
- I really appreciate
everybody that pitched in
and actually submitted their part.
(clapping)
- It was definitely one
of the coolest things
I've ever been a part of in Frankfurt.
- A lot of times when
we meet with legislators
and they hear someone's story,
they go, oh, I didn't know that.
- You know, I don't
think we change everyone,
but I do think that we open that door
and start that conversation.
And our law makers and the
people that hold power,
they're looking at us as a statistic,
but it's really hard to
argue with lived experience.
We have to reach back for the folks
that are still incarcerated.
No matter how many times
someone won't meet with us.
No matter how many times
we hit a road block,
we just keep fighting, we do it together.
- Hey, thanks for watching this video.
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