The U.S. Constitution guarantees everyone the right to a fair trial and the right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment. But these constitutional rights are meaningless if prosecutors, judges and prisons aren’t held accountable for wrongdoing.
With 25% of the world’s prison population, the U.S. has one of the world’s worst mass-incarceration problems. There are many ways to end mass incarceration. But taking steps to end the unfair sentencing practices that created the problem is crucial.
More than half a million people are released from prison every year. But three-quarters of them end up back in prison. Ending this cycle means creating and supporting in-prison programs that focus on the skills necessary for a successful reentry.
“EQUAL JUSTICE UNDER LAW.” That phrase is engraved above the front entrance to the United States Supreme Court. But the concept is often missing from U.S. criminal justice system. Equal access to justice is essential to a fair and just legal system.
The video of Floyd’s death shows him losing consciousness and posing no threat to officers. The Chauvin trial brings into question the training capabilities of police departments and the choices officers make outside of their training....
After Texas tried to put a hard stop to contraband in prisons, specifically drugs, there ended up being more than before inside the state's correctional facilities. This increase in contraband, despite more regulations, made Texas a kind of controlled experiment about where contraband in prisons comes from. ...
Witnesses have called it murder. Derek Chauvin, the officer charged with Floyd’s death, calls it reasonable use of force. Now, his defense is arguing that Chauvin did what he was trained to do. In other words, the defense maintains that the police department trained Chauvin to kill citizens. ...
The "Back the Blue Act" received opposition from both civil rights groups and police associations. As a result, lawmakers broke the bill down into a trio of bills. Most of the legislation from SSB 1140 made it into Senate Files 479, 534 and 476. One key piece, however, did not...
On March 11, Rep. Pressley reintroduced the People's Justice Guarantee. With the current wave of justice reform around the country, will the outcome be different this time around? And if it passes, what would that even mean?...
Mandatory minimums have also perpetuated mass incarceration, and many states are working to reduce or eliminate the use of mandatory minimums in their courts. In short, criminal justice reform has solved one problem while exacerbating another....
