TOPs AWARDs![C:\Users\KKANE\Desktop\colorful-humming-tops-26322066.jpg](https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/GNnRwrcQKuc8Um8MluPaTiI5sWV8VJx9Ruyc32LKpCr85JAuRIY_BuZ_zqNSv2uxtaIgwE5pHz1YAHDuqojrB4n8O_jGQTKTzMBfcpZY4HTxDtjRsLADhidGkmGjs45AGcxo9yczQXhsYznsYg)
Inn of Court Honors Recidivism
Activist, Former Prosecutor
February 8, 2019
The Horace Rumpole Inn of Court, a society of judges and lawyers
in Phoenix, Arizona, presents an award annually to two individuals,
an Inn member and a non-Inn member, who have "quietly, but
significantly, demonstrated a positive impact on our community by
individual effort to live the ideals of the TOPs Awards' concept:
that it 'Takes One Person to Tackle One Problem to Transform
our Phoenix for the betterment of all.'" The Inn hereby announces
its 2018-2019 winners, who will be honored at the University Club
in Phoenix on Wednesday evening, February 13, 2019.
Non-Member Honoree:
Frantz Beasley is President and Founder of AZ
Common Ground, a nonprofit which has won widespread recognition for
helping those with felony convictions move forward with their lives
after release. But before his involvement helping others, Beasley
was inmate No. 107110 at Arizona State Prison, incarcerated as a
young man for two armed robberies and a kidnapping. He formed AZ
Common Ground while still behind bars.
Beasley recognized that, when released from prison, ex-offenders
face discrimination in employment, housing, education, welfare
benefits, and the right to vote. The likelihood of black males
going back to prison within three years of release is 70 percent,
according to the National Institute of Justice. Beasley
assesses the risk factors and responsiveness of each person who
comes to him and creates a case management plan. Those he has
helped can continue to call on him for support. Beasley terms AZ
Common Ground "a program for rebuilding [former inmates'] life and
sometimes attempting to establish themselves for the first
time."
Beasley was born in South Phoenix and lived through the height
of the "crack" cocaine era. While he was growing up, he says,
everyone was "either in prison, doped out or addicted, or they were
dead." Now he sees 120 new faces each month, as his non-profit
teaches people how to navigate the second phase of their
conviction, the difficult reentry into life on the outside, off the
streets. In the eyes of many of those he helps, he represents
nothing less than freedom, hope, and redemption.
Inn Member Honoree:
Over a lengthy career with the Maricopa County Attorney's
Office, Jerry Landau distinguished himself as a
model prosecutor - tough, idealistic, meticulous, unfailingly fair
- and as a skillful spokesman for his office at the Arizona
Legislature. During that time, he contributed tireless efforts to
virtually every Arizona criminal justice legislative reform,
earning a reputation for integrity and dedication to the public
interest. After joining the Administrative Office of the Courts as
the Arizona Supreme Court's Governmental Affairs Director, Landau's
reputation grew as his focus shifted to the courts and the judicial
system, but always with a steadfast view to the public welfare.
Landau has served on local and national boards and commissions too
numerous to mention and has presented in virtually every type of
law enforcement forum, local, national, and international. A
dedicated husband and dad, Landau also takes time to serve his
faith community and other charities. As a lover of America's
favorite pastime, he continually strives to give his minor league
baseball team, the Hillsboro (Oregon) Hops, the winning advantage
as a co-owner and booster. Within the law enforcement community and
the entire legal profession, Landau is recognized as a true
icon.