Successfully highlighting innovative restorative justice programs to California policymakers

SUCCESS STORIES PROGRAM, SPRING 2026

Project: Aglet Strategies worked with the Success Stories Program and incarcerated writer and journalist Talib Williams to transform his powerful writing into an op-ed for California policymakers about the impact of peer-led restorative justice programs in prison.

Objective: Highlight the power of innovative, peer-led restorative justice programs for California policymakers.

Components: Worked with Talib to shape his existing essays and writing into an op-ed, exchanging multiple rounds of drafts with the facilitation of his wife and preserving his voice and perspective throughout the process.

Results: The op-ed, “Prison didn’t teach me accountability. Other incarcerated men did,” was published in the print and online editions of The Sacramento Bee’s highly competitive opinion section, reaching an important audience of California policymakers and opinion leaders.

Real world impact: We have already heard from state-wide policy organizations that the op-ed helped them better understand how the program works and why it is effective.

About the Author: Talib Williams is an incarcerated writer and journalist whose work examines incarceration, racialized state violence, and Black radical tradition. He is editor of The Catalyst, a newsletter for the Success Stories Program.