BUZZARDS BAY – Barnstable County Sheriff Donna Buckley is celebrating a pilot project that brought the public face-to-face with inmates at the county jail in Bourne on March 25th.
The event was part of the Frederick Douglass Project For Justice, founded by Georgetown University professor Marc Howard in 2019.
Howard visited an imprisoned friend who wound up being exonerated for murder after nearly two decades behind bars. He then went on a tour of jails nationwide, and says he has witnessed tremendous human suffering created by a justice system that fails to rehabilitate prisoners.
His project has reached 15 states, and Buckley says she is the second sheriff in Massachusetts to participate.
According to the sheriff’s office, the Frederick Douglass Project’s mission aligns with Sheriff Buckley’s goal, which is to improve public safety by providing meaningful programming.
The group met in the jail library after a tour of the facility.
Buckley said making community connections will help those on the inside find success upon their release.
“I want everyone to care about people in prison as they would about their brothers and sisters. That’s how we will create change,” said Howard.
To sign up for a future visit, click on the Douglass Project website.
By Jim McCabe, CapeCod.com NewsCenter
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