MISSION

OJPC’s mission is to create fair, intelligent, redemptive criminal-justice systems through zealous client-centered advocacy, innovative policy reform, and cross-sector community education.

HISTORY

In the 1990s, Cincinnati civil rights attorney Alphonse (Al) Gerhardstein was consistently confronted with the problems faced by people swept up in the unprecedented and historic growth of prison populations in Ohio. People with few resources to obtain zealous legal representation, disproportionately Black, were being locked up en masse. When they went through those prison gates, they faced overcrowded facilities, violence, and denial of basic human rights like medical care. Once criminalized, it was nearly impossible for incarcerated people to get representation in court to protect or restore their basic human dignity. This desire to provide solutions for Ohioans and protections for people in the justice system resulted in the creation of the Prison Reform Advocacy Center (PRAC) in Cincinnati in 1997, with Sylvia Paxton at the helm through 1999, and then Rich Arnold. In 2006, PRAC would expand its mission to embrace broader criminal justice advocacy work and be renamed the Ohio Justice & Policy Center (OJPC).

In 2002, David Singleton succeeded Rich as Executive Director. David brought a fresh legal philosophy developed from his time in Harlem, New York and Washington, D.C. where he served as a public defender. He infused his values and work ethic into OJPC’s core: attorneys must serve the client first and foremost; they must listen with compassion; they must fight zealously for their client; and, as experience had taught him, they must never write anyone off..

After years of advocating for the rights of incarcerated people in Ohio, and advancing impact litigation OJPC embraced a new challenge. In 2004, OJPC established second chance legal clinics to address the barriers faced by people attempting to navigate society after obtaining criminal records or completing their sentences. This work embodies a core pillar of the organization — the belief that every person deserves dignity after their conviction and freedom after their sentence.

In partnership with area law schools, OJPC created legal clinics to provide hands-on legal experience for law school students, strengthening our commitment to legal education as part of our mission. And with the new focus on policy work, OJPC began to see the positive outcomes in this area. With OJPC’s advocacy, Cincinnati became the first Fair Hiring city in Ohio in 2010, providing the model for similar bills in additional cities prior to statewide passage. This ensured fair hiring chances for people with criminal records, prohibiting asking about criminal history on initial applications for government jobs, and delaying background checks until a conditional offer is made.

In 2019, OJPC expanded its impact inside and beyond prison walls. The organization established post-conviction representation for over-punished and rehabilitated persons seeking release, with the goal of safely reducing the prison population and its resulting racial disparities. To date, OJPC has helped more than 80 people return home from prison.

OJPC expanded its reach in 2020 with the opening of a second office in Columbus, Ohio, creating space both for our growing policy work, which truly needed to be anchored in the state’s capital, and for attorneys who could expand access to legal services to the Columbus area.
In 2023, Gabriel (Gabe) Davis succeeded David Singleton and was named Chief Executive Officer of OJPC. Gabe’s background defending civil rights brought a renewed focus on strategic litigation and systemic reform to hold the criminal justice system accountable for protecting civil and human rights.. He also brought a theory of change shaped by his work as a reform-minded prosecutor at the New York County District Attorney’s Office and as a federal prosecutor in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice: that the law must pursue justice over convictions, and that protecting the humanity of the most vulnerable is a shared responsibility. Under Gabe’s leadership, in 2025, OJPC achieved its statewide vision by opening its third office in Cleveland, Ohio. That same year OJPC revitalized the organization’s focus on the needs of justice-impacted women, ensuring that gender-specific barriers are removed in the pursuit of justice.

OJPC today is Ohio’s leading civil and human rights law firm advancing innovative criminal justice system reform at every stage. We help people navigate the complexities of the legal system, create pathways beyond conviction and incarceration, and support communities seeking to avoid those entanglements altogether. We use a mix of legal advocacy, policy reform, and community engagement in order to create fair, smart, and redemptive systems.