Prison Mindfulness Institute
P.O Box 206
South Deerfield, MI  01373
The Berkeley Initiative for Mindfulness in Law
760 Euclid Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94708

Grant Amount

$20,000

Description of Organization

This Collaboration Grant between Prison Mindfulness Institute and The Berkeley Initiative for Mindfulness in Law supported the “Mindful Justice” program, bringing the benefits of mindfulness on a large scale into the American criminal justice system by inspiring and enabling new jurisdictions to adopt mindfulness-based programs, and, over time, transform the criminal justice system into one that embodies the values of interconnection, compassion, dignity of the individual, and a belief in the fundamental goodness of all humans.

We are proposing a project called Mindful Justice: Transforming our Criminal Justice System through Mindfulness. This project would establish a national platform for the nascent movement to bring mindfulness training and values into the criminal justice system, advance a “front to back” vision of how the practices and values of mindfulness can transform the system from the inside out, and catalyze the spread of mindfulness-based interventions throughout the criminal justice system. The broader goals of this program are to:

  • Bring the benefits of mindfulness practice on a large scale into the American criminal justice system by inspiring and enabling new jurisdictions to adopt mindfulness-based programs;
  • Develop and advance a holistic, “front to back” vision of how mindfulness practices and values can be integrated into criminal justice institutions and processes.
  • Provide a national platform for the pioneering programs in this area, as a way of increasing their legitimacy and visibility to policy-makers, the media, and the general public;
  • Over time, transform the criminal justice system into one that embodies the values of interconnection, compassion, dignity of the individual, and a belief in the fundamental goodness of all humans.