Because 90% of all prisoners in the United States are in state facilities, the work that states are doing to reduce their prison populations is crucial. Attempting to end mass incarceration necessitates realizing this is a situation requiring not one national solution, but fifty state solutions. Below are current state solutions that could be effectively modeled by other states for meaningful reform.
“Figuring out what to do with shuttered correctional facilities is kind of new territory, said Nicole Porter, the director of advocacy at The Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit that promotes reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices; and advocates for alternatives to incarceration. Porter has tracked what communities nationwide are doing with closed-down prisons. “
Saporta Report
June 3, 2019
Read More“Allen never faced criminal trial on the sexual assault charges. He was never convicted or sentenced for the alleged crime, but has nonetheless spent almost four decades behind bars. He had agreed to participate in something called a “civil commitment,” which under Illinois law allowed for his indefinite incarceration.“
WBEZ 91.5 Chicago
March 7, 2019
Read More“Governors in most states have the power to pardon or commute sentences, either at their sole discretion or with some level of input from a commission. Since most convictions occur at the state level, some governors can wield even greater influence on criminal justice than the president can. But most governors rarely use this power, and few have made it a mainstay of their tenure in office—a major missed opportunity for justice and the public good.“
The New Republic
January 4, 2019
Read More“The problem with Amendment 4 is that it perpetuates discrimination and bigotry against a sub-class of former prisoners and convicted felons, namely those convicted of murder and sex offenses. All the talk of Amendment 4 supporters about second chances, redemption, reintegration into the community, etc. rings hollow and opportunistic when they made the decision to exclude murderers and sex offenders from the franchise and to enshrine this form of discrimination into the state constitution.“
Prison Legal News
September 19, 2018
Read More"Nestled away in the 200-page document was a policy to offshore around a third of Puerto Rico’s prison population – 3,200 inmates – to private facilities thousands of miles away within the US. The board claim the policy will help to save close to $400m over four years. The government insists it will be voluntary. But advocates describe it as a disaster waiting to happen."
The Guardian
August 7, 2018
Read More"'This can’t be inhumane because we do it to our pets,' he said in defense of the proposal. Ludeman explained to a Toledo Blade reporter that he had seen many TV shows where fictional criminals were able to slip out of an ankle monitor to commit more crimes. He insisted that implanting microchips would be 'painless' and 'humane.'"
The Appeal
August 7, 2018
Read More"Pandora Lobacz, a teacher who was beaten at a juvenile prison last year, said Walker's approach wasn't working because she believed he had not put good people in charge of the Department of Corrections. He would learn about understaffing and other problems if he would visit a prison, she said. "
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
August 7, 2018
Read More"President Barack Obama's push to grant clemency to thousands of inmates convicted of drug offenses was hamstrung by a lack of planning and may not have reviewed petitions consistently, a Department of Justice report found Wednesday."
USA Today
August 1, 2018
Read More"Successful reentry initiatives are in the interest of inmates, correctional staff and the wider community. While prisons will always need to be disciplined, controlled environments, Hood believes it’s about striking a balance. From giving a prisoner a handshake to reinforce good behavior to working with the public on reentry initiatives, he hopes the correctional system will soon live up to its name."
In Public Safety
June 29, 2018
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