The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/reforming-the-system/)
Joseph Sledge was sentenced to life without parole in North Carolina for a murder he didn’t commit. It took 36 years for him to be freed, largely because exoneration cases focus on those given the death penalty—a dilemma faced by inmates in many states where capital punishment has been abolished.
Releases from jail for persons awaiting trial increased by more than 81 percent between April and June, according to a nationwide survey of pretrial services agencies. The fact that crime rates remained relatively stable suggests that changes made in the era of the coronavirus should become permanent, survey leaders said.
As protests against racism continue to march on across the country, conversations have sparked a new dialogue about policing and marijuana legalization. Advocates say “drug policy is a social justice issue” and that by legalizing marijuana, unwanted negative and racially-charged interactions with the police will subside.
While a small but influential group of big-city “progressive” prosecutors are actively promoting restorative justice, mainstream DAs remain skeptical. The way to win more converts is to show how the concept fits within traditional justice goals — and also hope for a less hostile political environment, argues a Fordham Law Review paper.
This month’s anti-police fervor is bolstering the Stop Snitching movement. That couldn’t be a more counterproductive result for communities already disproportionally victimized by racism in the justice system, writes a University of Pennsylvania professor.
Several states already have passed bills in response to George Floyd’s death, but some advocates say the legislation only scratches the surface of deeply embedded policing problems and won’t solve systemic issues,
Laws and practices that treat justice-involved young people as though they were “little adults” fail to make communities safer, subject youth to harmful conditions of confinement, and drive racial disparities, write two advocates for reform.
Speakers at the 2020 John Jay Innovations Conference offered examples of cities like Milwaukee and Durham, N.C., which have reduced the “footprint” of police without endangering public safety.
Recent calls for abolishing prisons and defunding police received a favorable hearing at a University of Pennsylvania Law School webinar Wednesday. One law professor envisioned “a world in which we don’t resort to state violence to resolve interpersonal violence.”
A report published Thursday by the Connecticut Juvenile Justice Alliance (CJJA) calls on state and city leaders to invest in eliminating racial inequalities. Giving the report extra weight is the fact that recommendations come from impacted young people themselves.