Humanizing Language in Justice: Help Us Build a National Standard

The Last Mile is launching a national campaign to create a shared guide for modern, person-first language in the justice system. Here’s why – and how you can help.

People are exhausted by the constant rewording of familiar terms in modern society. Some worry that all this shifting language is just symbolic, surface-level fixes for deeper problems. Others express genuine confusion: “Why does it matter if I say inmate or justice-impacted person? Doesn’t everyone know what I mean?” We’ve even heard a few versions of, “I’m afraid to say the wrong thing at all, so I say nothing.”
So, we decided to ask the people who are directly affected.

We sat down with alumni of The Last Mile—people who have lived through incarceration and are now navigating the outside world. We asked them plainly: Does changing the language actually help? Does it matter to you?

They answered—clearly, powerfully, and sometimes unexpectedly.

If you’re someone who’s curious whether these words actually matter, and whether they help real people reclaim their dignity to reshape their identity, keep reading to learn from real voices behind the movement to humanize justice.

Why Humanizing Language in Justice Matters

Language is not neutral. The words we use to describe people who have experienced incarceration shape their futures as much as their pasts. Terms like felon, inmate, and offender actively stigmatize a person, boiling their identity down to dehumanizing category. This stigma directly affects employment, housing, and even voting rights for millions of justice-impacted Americans.

Research has shown that using crime-first labels like these increase the risk of recidivism, while person-first language, such as justice impacted or person with a conviction fosters inclusion, reduces stigma, and has real changes in behavioral outcomes.

These findings align with what we have witnessed at The Last Mile: Language changes self-perception, and self-perception guides future behaviors.

Henry Dillard, an alumnus and Senior Manager of Remote Instruction at The Last Mile, described how damaging these labels can be. “Being called by your number every day, being called ‘inmate’ to your face, it tears at your identity,” he said. “I’ve seen dehumanizing language break men, destroy their self-esteem, and make them question themselves.”

Kevin McCracken, Executive Director at The Last Mile, has seen firsthand the transformation that happens when people feel seen. “The people I’ve met inside are intelligent, hardworking, and thoughtful. When we use humanizing language, it sets a tone of respect and possibility that they don’t often get from the outside world.”

Living the Impact of Dehumanizing Words

For TLM graduates, the shift to humanizing language in justice is personal. It fosters dignity, healing, and a chance to redefine their identities.

Messigh Perry-Garner, an alumnus and Social Media Coordinator with The Last Mile, recalled his own experience inside. “Everything was determined by my number—medical, showers, even my movement. They’d yell ‘Inmate Perry-Garner’ with my last two numbers—80.” 

Perry-Garner still remembers the moment language changed after his release. “I remember the first time I heard, ‘You have a call from an incarcerated person.’ It changes how we’re seen out here, and how we see ourselves.”

Timothy Littlepage, an alumnus and Academic Success Representative, reflected on the emotional toll. “Inside, I felt like a piece of dirt on their boot. Not human. Just a number,” he said. “Now I identify as justice-impacted. That shift changes how I see myself and how others see me too.”

Perry-Garner added: “It draws a line between our worst mistake and who we are today. That shift in language let me move from shame to empowerment. It gave me the confidence to tell my story without guilt.”

The Power of Recognition and Respect

Armando “Mando” Gonzalez, a TLM Senior Alumni Success Coach, recalls how the simple act of being addressed by his name shifted his mindset. “Getting into a space where I was called by my real name, and was acknowledged as a person—it was humanizing in a way I didn’t know I needed.”

“When we dehumanize others, we disconnect from ourselves,” Gonzalez continued. “We think we’re labeling someone else, but we’re really detaching from our own humanity.”

The stakes of this disconnection are high. A recent study found that labels like “felon” or “offender” increase public support for punitive policies and reduce support for reentry services.

This is why a national standard for humanizing language is so essential. It’s not just about changing the words we use. If we want to see fewer people return to prison, we are in need of a national shift in the way we refer to justice impacted people.

Introducing The Last Mile’s Campaign

To address these issues, The Last Mile is launching a national campaign to create a shared guide for modern, person-first language in the justice system.

The campaign is designed to introduce the language of dignity and personhood, such as “justice-impacted individual” and “returning citizen”, to a broader audience. It will highlight why these words matter, backed by data and the testimonies of those who are directly impacted.

Over the coming months, the campaign will unfold in articles, social media posts, and video interviews designed to educate key audiences like policymakers, educators, corporate hiring managers, and nonprofit leaders.

These stories will show how a simple shift in vocabulary can open doors to opportunity and support reintegration, echoing national Fair Chance Hiring movements.

A National Standard for Humanizing Language in Justice Reform

The Last Mile has already demonstrated what’s possible. With a 75% post-release employment rate and only 5% recidivism among alumni, TLM’s success proves that teaching career skills while reducing stigma is highly effective for rehabilitation.

But individual programs cannot shift a national narrative alone. That’s why this campaign aims to create the first co-developed, national Humanizing Justice Language Guide.

This guide will give policymakers, nonprofits, and employers a standard they can reference, ensuring consistency across public discourse, hiring practices, and policy writing. It will not impose language from the top down, but instead be shaped collaboratively with the people most affected by dehumanizing terms.

As Dillard explained, “Even now, this language is still being used in a lot of places. That’s why it’s so important to have these conversations—to teach how to use humanizing language, how to use respectful language even when you’re talking to justice-impacted individuals.”

McCracken reinforces this point: “What gets measured gets changed—but what gets named shapes what we measure. That’s why standardizing language is a foundation for systems change.”

Join Us In Humanizing Language in Justice

Our Goals:

• Introduce people-first language to key audiences in tech, education, policy, and advocacy
• Increase empathy and understanding through stories and real-world examples
• Encourage allies and partners to adopt this language in their own work
  Generate a national standard for Humanizing Language in Justice with key partners around the country
  

That’s Why We’re Calling On:

• Justice Impacted people willing to tell their story
• Nonprofits and advocacy groups working on reentry and criminal justice reform
• Employers practicing Fair Chance Hiring
• Policymakers and educators shaping public discourse
• Foundations supporting equity, language, and reentry initiatives
  

Nobody should be reduced to their worst moment—not by systems, not by policies, and certainly not by words.

The Last Mile believes that humanizing language in justice is a critical step toward real criminal justice reform. We invite nonprofits, employers, educators, and policymakers to co-create this guide with us. Together, we can replace stigmatizing labels with language that reflects dignity, potential, and humanity.

If you or your organization are interested in participating, please fill out our form below:

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By Robert Roche, VP of Marketing at The Last Mile, and Messigh Perry-Garner, Social Media Marketing Coordinator at The Last Mile

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