Former Intern Joseph Dole Publishes “Voting as a Crime Prevention Strategy”

Chicago Lawyers’ Committee had the privilege of working with community leader Joseph Dole on carceral voting initiatives in 2023 and 2024 when Joseph served as a public engagement intern with our Midwest Voting Rights team. We are grateful to have been able to provide this opportunity to Joseph in collaboration with the National Public Housing Museum. This internship followed several years of collaboration between Joseph and Chicago Lawyers’ Committee in the Law, Politics, and Civic Engagement Think Tank at Stateville Correctional Center in Illinois, led by Dr. Christina Rivers of DePaul University. 

Joseph is a published writer, artist, and activist, and has been incarcerated for more than 20 years. He is co-founder and policy director of Parole Illinois, a 501c3 non-profit organization working to abolish death-by-incarceration.   

Most recently, and as the culmination of his internship with Chicago Lawyers’ Committee, Joseph wrote an article titled “Voting as a Crime Prevention Strategy” that was published in the DePaul Journal for Social Justice.

Read the full piece here.   

We commend Joseph for his work to advance voting rights. We thank Dr. Christina Rivers, Alexandria Boutros, DePaul Journal for Social Justice, National Public Housing Museum, Prison + Neighborhood Arts/Education Project, and Dr. Tim Barnett for their support. We look forward to continued collaboration with Joseph in our advocacy for the Re-Integration and Civic Empowerment (RACE) Act to re-enfranchise our incarcerated community members.