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.
“Democratic presidential candidates Kamala Harris, Cory Booker and Tom Steyer faced criminal justice questions Monday that are seldom mentioned on the campaign trail, including sentencing reform for people convicted of violent crimes, civil rights for those coming out of prison and restorative justice, during the nation’s first candidate town hall organized by formerly incarcerated people.“
The Marshall Project
October 28, 2019
Read More“The candidates vying to challenge President Trump next November want to move their party left on bail reform, marijuana, immigration and more. Here’s where they stand.“
The Marshall Project
October 10, 2019
Read More“Wednesday night’s debate saw the first extended discussion of criminal justice issues as the Democratic presidential candidates jockey in a crowded and competitive field. Several candidates teed off those issues to score political points and jab at opponents. While their exchanges covered a wide range of topics, there were also critical issues that no one even mentioned. Here’s a guide, curated by our experts here at The Marshall Project, to what’s behind the one-liners and talking points—and what was left out. We include suggestions for further reading for those who want to delve deeper.“
The Marshall Project
August 1, 2019
Read More“Erroneous or outdated criminal charges that linger on a person’s record for years—also known as “sticky warrants”—can result either from prosecutors and probation departments refusing to drop minor cases from the distant past, or from outright clerical errors.“
The Marshall Project
April 29, 2019
Read More“Last year, the Sunshine State became the first in the country to require its jails, prosecutors, public defenders, courts and prisons to coordinate their data collection, enabling lawmakers and the public to track how someone moves through the entire criminal justice system, from arrest to release. The new information will be sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, which will publish it online.“
The Marshall Project
April 14, 2019
Read More“But on Monday, their good faith was put to the test as President Trump released his budget priorities for 2020. Only $14 million was explicitly listed to finance the act’s programs. It’s unclear if additional funding could come from savings that could result from the early release of eligible prisoners under the measure or from reducing expenses elsewhere within the Department of Justice, as some advocates for the programs hope. The White House did not respond to questions.“
The Marshall Project
March 12, 2019
Read More“Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland took office in 2016 vowing to fight the city’s high violent crime rate by beefing up a dwindling police force. His most novel idea: use an advisory body, the Memphis Shelby Crime Commission, to funnel anonymous private donations from the city’s elite to reward cops who remain on the force.“
The Marshall Project
February 13, 2019
Read More“According to 2016 data from The Sentencing Project, more than 1 in every 4 people disenfranchised in Florida is black, and more than 1 in 5 black people in Florida is disenfranchised. By some estimates, continued disenfranchisement paired with state trends in mass incarceration were predicted to soon yield a Florida “democracy” with 40 percent of black men barred from the ballot box. Forty percent.“
The Marshall Project
November 7, 2018
Read More“While all eyes are on district attorney races in several states where reform-minded candidates are running on promises to end “mass incarceration,” further down the ballot voters will have a chance to decide on measures that will shape how millions of Americans interact with the criminal justice system. A few themes emerge:“
The Marshall Project
November 1, 2018
Read More“What’s most striking about this program is hearing prison officials talk about a newfound sense of purpose. They no longer reduce success to statistics about arrests or disciplinary infractions. They tell stories of individuals gaining control of their lives and reconnecting with estranged family members. And they use the word “dignity” a lot, much like their counterparts in Europe. They take pride in the idea that they are truly a department of correction.“
The Marshall Project
October 9, 2018
Read More"A distinctly American legal doctrine holds getaway drivers and lookouts as responsible for a death as the actual killer. California is having second thoughts."
The Marshall Project
June 27, 2018
Read More"In 2017, the U.S. prison population dropped below 1.5 million people for the first time since 2004, according to a new report by the nonprofit Vera Institute of Justice. A decline in several states with large prison populations, including Maryland, Louisiana and Illinois, is responsible, along with a drop in federal prisoners."
The Marshall Project
May 18, 2018
Read More"Young brains are still evolving. One prison is trying to take advantage of that."
The Marshall Project
May 8, 2018
Read More