Criminal Justice Case Researcher and Advocate
Leona Dominguez Mueller is a Criminal Justice Case Researcher and Advocate for JMJP and is currently a Sophomore Majoring in Criminology and Legal Studies at George Mason University. She has been working to research mental health resources in rural areas, criminal justice and social inequities within communities, and their impacts on how people with mental illnesses are treated by law enforcement and their communities. She has been particularly drawn to a case in Wallace, NC where she was researching the backgrounds between two police encounters with people with severe mental illnesses, where the disparity in the treatment of the White victim was vastly different in comparison to the Black male who was murdered. She hopes to continue working to not only understand the existing and evident disparities within communities lacking resources but, along with JMJP, help advocate for more resources for people suffering from mental illnesses in the area through writing bills, social advocacy, and community events to help the people feel heard.
