The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/viewpoints/)
When exonerated individuals finally leave prison, they are often free in name only. For many of them, the struggle to find employment, housing and mental health treatment is the “stuff of nightmares,” writes a former Baltimore public defender.
Most Americans seem willing to accept that opioid addiction should be treated as a disease rather than a criminal offense. But the wide variety and quality of treatment and rehab facilities in the US means we should now double down on efforts to investigate which ones really perform, says an addiction expert.
Every dollar invested in correctional education reduces future criminal justice costs by five dollars. But despite studies bearing this out, policymakers hesitate even to revive programs that were scrapped in the tough-on-crime era, says a leading prison reformer.
Some police manuals suggest lying to suspects during interrogations is a useful law enforcement tool. But it can trap the innocent as well as the guilty, argues a professor at Israel’s College of Law and Business.
Since the federal legislation was passed in April, three women have been murdered and dozens more are missing. That was inevitable when the shutdown of sex sites like Backpage forced sex workers back on the street and into the clutches of pimps, writes an advocate for decriminalization of prostitution.
MS-13 has committed heinous acts of violence, but the Trump administration’s attempt to make the gang a symbol of the supposed threat posed by immigration dehumanizes all immigrants and could make them more vulnerable to exploitation, writes an anti-violence researcher.
The House bill passed last week won’t solve every problem facing our justice system, but it’s a lot better than doing nothing, says a former inmate who hosts the “Decarceration Nation” podcast.
In a recent tweet, President Trump called for “changes to our thought process on terror.” He’s right, but not exactly in the way he meant, says a former US Air Force intelligence analyst.
A white-collar defense attorney explains how “pro-active” engagement with prosecutors has helped his clients avoid going to trial or at least present evidence that could change a case’s outcome. He calls it “trying a case in a prosecutor’s office.”
Nearly 400,000 young people are put on probation each year, pulling them deeper into the justice system without support or guidance that could divert them to a better path. Introducing a new report by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, two juvenile justice experts suggest an agenda to get them there.