Partnering for Prison Justice: How Equal Justice Initiative Fights for Civil Rights
February 3, 2026
By Jennifer Pei, PBI Intern In 2025, almost two million people were detained in either state or federal prisons across the United States. The criminal justice system cost approximately $182 billion across the federal, state, and local levels. “Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done.”1 The Equal Justice Initiative (EJI) is a civil rights nonprofit organization based in Montgomery, Alabama. Founded in 1989, EJI serves communities that have been systemically marginalized due to poverty and racial injustices. Its founder, bestselling author and public interest attorney, Bryan Stevenson, began EJI as part of his work as