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Towards a more just criminal legal system


Advancing Real Change, Inc. promotes justice by ensuring that the life histories of people charged with crimes are at the forefront of their cases. Your support makes our work possible.

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What We Do

Our criminal legal system too often reduces individuals accused of crimes to their worst actions. Their redeeming qualities, the community that loves them, and the experiences that brought them into contact with the legal system are ignored, frequently resulting in extreme and inhumane sentences. Advancing Real Change, Inc., works towards a more just and humane criminal legal system by unearthing the life histories of people facing extreme sentences so that true, accurate, and detailed information about their lives can be shared with the judges, juries, and prosecutors who decide their fates.

Upcoming Events

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Featured Resources

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Conference

2023 Baltimore Mitigation Skill-Building Training

The training, Writing Stories for Change, will be led by Dr. Jill Patterson, a national expert in narrative defense and…

  • October 11
  • 8:30 am EDT
  • Presenter: Dr. Jill Patterson

News

Submit Your Nominations for the 2025 ARC Awards

Each year, Advancing Real Change, Inc., presents two awards to leaders in the field of mitigation investigation: The Muhammad-White Award…

  • Published May 12, 2025
  • Jeremiah Sierra
News

We’ve moved!

Since Advancing Real Change, Inc. was founded in Baltimore just over 10 years ago, we’ve had a few local office…

  • Published April 30, 2025
  • Jeremiah Sierra
News

Share your ARC memories

This year marks ARC's tenth anniversary! If you have a story or memory about ARC or one of our team…

  • Published August 13, 2024
  • Jeremiah Sierra
  • I’m new to the field, so being able to talk to an experienced veteran was great. I felt supported.”

    Ask a Mitigation Specialist Participant, 2022
  • Thank you so much to the ARC team…. I feel like I now have the tools to really do my job.

    Narrative workshop participant

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