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.
“While swift reform following an in-custody death is a refreshing change, the knee-jerk police union opposition is predictable. Police groups have a long history of blocking reforms and pushing tough-on-crime policies. However, in this new era of bipartisan efforts to curb mass incarceration, police associations have increasingly become a voice in the wilderness.“
Texas Observer
May 3, 2019
Read More“The idea was to relieve pressure on the overcrowded prison system while also breaking the cycle of incarceration for low-level felons. Instead, more than two decades later, people leaving state jail have a greater chance of reoffending than any other group in the Texas criminal justice system. Nearly 63 percent of people released from state jails are rearrested, compared to 46 percent of inmates released from Texas prisons, according to Legislative Budget Board data.“
Texas Observer
December 11, 2018
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