Many issues that are primary drivers of mass incarceration cannot be remedied through government solutions alone. Issues such as broken families and mental health, both forever altered by over criminalization, cannot be simply be repaired through legislation. Civil Society has the unique capability to address certain social issues that government cannot, or to address them more effectively than government can. This section also addresses issues in which over-policing attempts to fix issues that should be handled through the community.
"Releasing people from prison early is particularly risky when it comes to violent offenders. Most of the conversation around clemency – and enthusiasm for it – tends to focus on non-violent offenders, in particular people who are still in prison due to the inequitable, and racist, 100-1 crack-versus-cocaine sentencing disparities handed out during the heyday of the US 'war on drugs'."
The Guardian
August 21, 2018
Read More"Responses operating outside the institution of policing and in the interest of the material well-being of the people are needed. This means not relying on police to solve conflict or social problems but instead pushing to divest funding from them and putting those funds into education, mental health, and other resources for the places we live."
The Appeal
June 19, 2018
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