Justice
Fighting Crime With Former Criminals
Baltimore's program to mediate disagreements between gang members successfully prevents homicides
Delaino Johnson was locked up for the first time when he was 16. Soon after his release, he was back behind bars again. In the years since, he's been picked up for all kinds of crimes – multiple assaults, possession of narcotics, theft, burglary, armed robbery. He spent seven years in a New Jersey prison at one point.
But around 2009 he realized he needed to straighten out. "I got older and tired of going behind bars," says Johnson, now 44. "I just realized something had to change in my life."