Washington DC — State and Local Issues — Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

Galsworthy Criminal Justice Reform Program

State and Local Issues

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.

Posts tagged Washington DC

D.C. has gone too far on criminal-justice reform

“By stripping the law of the requirement that judges consider the original crime when weighing sentence reductions — and suggesting long sentences are rarely justified for youthful criminals “despite the brutality or coldblooded nature” of their offense — the council assured that proceedings will tilt in favor of convicts. The reform legislation’s sponsor, council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), contends the court could still consider a crime’s severity if it is weighed against other factors, including evidence of remorse and rehabilitation.“

Washington Post

August 3, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesAugust 3, 2019Washington Post, Washington DCComment

D.C. doubles down on destructive prison-first policies

“Which brings me to a feature of the new policy that everybody should find objectionable: It is thoroughly undemocratic. The criminal laws that govern D.C. Superior Court are written by the D.C. Council, whereas the criminal laws that govern federal courts are written by Congress. As a result, in a city with no congressional representation, taking cases to federal court means moving them to a place where local citizens have no say in the law.“

Washington Post

February 14, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesFebruary 14, 2019James Forman Jr, Washington DC, Washington PostComment

State and Local Issues

Galsworthy CJR Program

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