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.

Which 2020 Candidates Are The Most Progressive On Criminal Justice Policy?

“The plan: ask every campaign a set of yes-or-no policy questions within a larger issue. To start, we asked the 23 most prominent Democratic presidential campaigns six questions about criminal justice policy.1 The goal here is to reveal not only what the candidates might do if elected president, but also how that differs from the rest of the field — hence the decision to use yes-no questions, which will allow us (and you) to compare the candidates systematically.“

FiveThirtyEight

June 20, 2019

SenatePhillip ReevesJune 20, 2019FiveThirtyEightComment

Cory Booker’s 2020 plan: Clemency for thousands of nonviolent drug offenders

“On his first day in the Oval Office, Booker would launch clemency reviews for federal prisoners who have been convicted of marijuana-related offenses or who received especially lengthy sentences for having crack cocaine, a punishment that has landed most heavily on black Americans.“

LA Times

June 20, 2019

SenatePhillip ReevesJune 20, 2019LA Times, Cory BookerComment

House panel OKs criminal justice reforms

“Part of an ambitious criminal justice package announced months earlier and supported by a host of Democratic officials, the measures are based on a belief that youth should be treated differently than adults, with several people Wednesday noting the brain is not finished developing until around age 25.“

June 19, 2019

Delaware State News

State ReformsPhillip ReevesJune 19, 2019Delaware, Delaware States NewsComment

New York City Bills Would Set The Stage To Replace Rikers Island Jail With A Solar Farm

“If completed, the project would transform Rikers Island into a public utility hub that Constantinides said would make it easier to close the two dozen oil- and gas-burning power plants within city limits. The jail is slated to close by 2027, though that timeline could speed up. “

Huffington Post

June 9, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesJune 9, 2019Huffington Post, New York City, Rikers IslandComment

Texas Lawmakers Consider State Jails a “Complete Failure”

“With few rehabilitative services and little programming available to prisoners who were held in state jails without even good-conduct time – sentencing enhancements were specifically prohibited in the authorizing legislation – the state jail system became a revolving door. The rearrest rate for offenders within three years after release soared to 63 percent, far higher than the state prison system’s 45 percent. The re-incarceration rate for state jails currently stands at 31 percent, versus 20 percent for those released from state prisons.“

Prison Legal News

June 5, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesJune 5, 2019Prison Legal News, TexasComment

Atlanta's looking to repurpose a jail. It's in a league with few other cities.

“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

Personalism, State ReformsPhillip ReevesJune 3, 2019Saporta Report, AtlantaComment

2 more Alabama cities selected for Department of Justice violent crime initiative

“The National Public Safety Partnership was launched in 2017 in response to President Trump's directive to reduce crime and improve public safety. Then- Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the National Public Safety Partnership, an alliance of local and federal law enforcement agencies coordinating with community organizations to reduce violent crime in areas long plagued by it. The Attorney General selected Birmingham as one of the initial 12 PSP sites.“

Birmingham News

June 3, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesJune 3, 2019Birmingham News, Alabama, National Public Safety PartnershipComment

NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson Presents His Plan for Criminal Justice Reform at John Jay

“Seeking a holistic approach to creating safer, more trusting communities, Johnson called for the closing of Rikers Island and the repealing of section 50-A of the New York State Civil Rights Law—the state law that keeps the disciplinary records of officers out of public view. “

John Jay College

June 1, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesJune 1, 2019John Jay College, Corey Johnson, New York CityComment

New York’s risky rush on criminal-justice reform

“We’re all for well-considered criminal-justice reform. We championed the federal First Step Act and think there’s still more to do to, for example give ex-offenders better odds of making good in life. But if reformers push too far, too fast, they’re all too likely to set the stage for a harsh swing back the other way.”

New York Post

May 11, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesMay 29, 2019New York Post, New YorkComment

Atlanta Mayor Signs Legislation Aimed At Closing City Jail

“She said with Fulton and DeKalb County jails, there was never a need for this one to be built and hold people who only violated city ordinances. Bottoms said she hopes to start transforming the space before her current term ends in 2021. She said the city has already started to assign jail staffers to other departments and some have even opted to retire.“

Georgia Public Broadcasting

May 28, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesMay 28, 2019Georgia, Georgia Public Broadcasting, AtlantaComment

Cruel and Unusual: A Guide to California’s Broken Prisons and the Fight to Fix Them

“Since then, California has struggled to deal with a cascading series of problems and almost constant oversight by federal judges. In recent years, the state has undergone the biggest transformation to its prisons since the first, San Quentin, opened in 1851. Here are some takeaways from the epic journey:“

ProPublica

May 28, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesMay 28, 2019ProPublica, CaliforniaComment

Creating Prison-Based College Program That Continues After Release Presents Challenges, but Can Have Success

“To help incarcerated individuals obtain a postsecondary education degree or credential, prisons offered them college classes during the final two years of their incarceration, with support continuing for another two years following release to help them achieve their degree or certificate goal. “

RAND Corporation

May 22, 2019

EducationPhillip ReevesMay 22, 2019Rand Corporation, North CarolinaComment

A death penalty case shows the absurdity of the worst crime bill from the ’90s

“The rules laid out by AEDPA are incredibly complicated, but for the purposes of this post, the relevant provision states that to get a federal court to review a state court’s ruling, a defendant must show not only that the state court (and the state courts that upheld the ruling) were wrong, but that the prevailing ruling was either ‘contrary to, or involved an unreasonable application of, clearly established Federal law,’ or an ‘unreasonable determination of the facts in light of the evidence presented.’ Put plainly, you must convince the federal courts not only that the state courts were wrong, but also that they were unreasonably wrong.“

Washington Post

May 20, 2019

SenatePhillip ReevesMay 20, 2019Washington Post, AEDPAComment

Mayor Lightfoot must get Chicagoans to truly care about gun violence

“Everyone knows that’s the case. There has never been the political will to take on the myriad issues that combine to create an environment where violence thrives because the violence is thriving in neighborhoods that, to most, are invisible. Places they know to avoid. Places they choose to ignore, or look down on as beyond saving. “

Chicago Tribune

May 20, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesMay 20, 2019Chicago Tribune, ChicagoComment

Rate of Incarceration On the Rise in Kentucky

“I think we've come to a point in our state, and it's been this way for years, where we have to distinguish who we're mad at, and who we're afraid of. Those we're afraid of need to be segregated in a prison and need to serve a sentence. Those we're mad at can be handled safely in the community with much better results.“

News 1 Kentucky

May 19, 2019

Mass IncarcerationPhillip ReevesMay 19, 2019News 1 Kentucky, KentuckyComment

New York to shutter 2 prisons, including Lincoln Correctional Facility that overlooks Central Park in NYC

“Two New York prisons — including one at the northern edge of Central Park that commands sweeping views of the famous green space — are going to be closed down for good in the next 90 days, the Daily News has learned.“

New York Daily News

May 17, 2019

State ReformsPhillip ReevesMay 17, 2019New York Daily News, New YorkComment

Left and Right Agree on Criminal Justice: They Were Both Wrong Before

“Mr. Levin highlighted measures passed recently in both red and blue states — important developments given that the vast majority of inmates are in state prisons, not federal ones. Oklahoma voters approved a ballot measure downgrading some drug-related felonies to misdemeanors. New Jersey and New Mexico revised their bail systems. Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee, a Republican, has proposed several changes. “

New York Times

May 16, 2019

Mass Incarceration, OvercriminalizationPhillip ReevesMay 16, 2019New York TimesComment

How'd Illinois Prisons Lose $3.4m Of Stuff?

“The Illinois Department of Corrections did not fare well in a recent state audit. Among the findings was that the agency could not account for 3,568 pieces of equipment. Dig into the numbers and property records, and you’ll find a bigger story about the challenges of pursuing efficiency in state government.“

NPR Illinois

May 16, 2019

Mass IncarcerationPhillip ReevesMay 16, 2019NPR Illinois, IllinoisComment