Political Report

This is the fourth installment in the series “The Contenders 2020: Criminal Justice in the Race for President.”

Vermont and Massachusetts legislation would abolish life without parole sentences, while other states consider that reform for minors.

Buncombe County’s Quentin Miller is the state’s fifth new sheriff to say he will stop honoring ICE detainers since the 2018 elections.

New York coalition pushes for decriminalization for sex work, Utah considers deportation consequences, and more.

Parisa Dehghani-Tafti, a candidate for prosecutor, explains how she wants to fight mass incarceration in Arlington.

The Wyoming Senate votes down abolition weeks after it cleared the House, while repeal bills advance in Washington & New Hampshire

Krasner limited monetary payments as a condition for pretrial release. A new study finds that this had no ill effect on court attendance or recidivism.

Youth justice bills introduced in Maryland; Missouri mulls early release; Iowa and Kentucky consider expanding voting rights

California, Michigan, and North Dakota debate the age of youth justice This update is part of the weekly Political Report newsletter. Find more on our legislative round-up page. California A new California law (Senate Bill 1391) bars anyone under 16 from being tried as an adult. But many DAs have challenged it in court. In an interview, Santa […]

Klobuchar implemented the kind of policies that today’s progressives are working hard to dismantle, and she doesn’t seem to see her record as problematic.

Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg’s budget request has sparked calls for her office to adopt a policy of declining to prosecute certain cases.

A proposed bill would restrict the Colorado sheriffs’ ability to detain people for ICE and enter deals with the agency.

Bobby Kimbrough announces that he will no longer honor ICE detainer requests nor allow ICE to detain people in the county jail.

Nashville organizers fight state bill with “Don’t Play Where You’re Not Welcome” campaign targeting college athletic recruits

In St. Louis, Chicago, and Baltimore, prosecutors have announced a policy of not prosecuting marijuana possession or have launched a new expungement program.

South Carolina mulls sentencing reforms, New Jersey adopts police accountability bill, death penalty repeal moves forward in Wyoming, and more Many of the laws that govern the American criminal justice system are set at the state level. Explore the latest developments on criminal justice reform in state legislatures around the country with the Political Report’s interactive […]

Advocates pursue many fronts to push for incarcerated individuals to have electoral voice, two decades Massachusetts restricted the franchise.

As a presidential candidate, will Cory Booker continue talking about second chances for people convicted of violent crimes?

In three GOP-governed states, a push to reform marijuana restrictions, repeal the death penalty, curb driver’s license suspensions

The county’s first deputy DA and chief public defender are running in the May 21 primary.

Tony Cummings, running for sheriff in Jacksonville’s March elections, lays out views on police accountability, civilian review boards, immigration.

An organizer with the Jacksonville Community Action Committee explains why her group is focused on the policing practices of the sheriff’s office, two months from local elections.

A legislative committee in the state House voted 5 to 3 to move HB 57 forward without a recommendation.

State advocates demand that politicians be more attentive to confronting the harm that marijuana prohibition has caused.

Activists rally for Arizona and Virginia sentencing reform, Connecticut commission releases recommendations

In the face of an overdose epidemic, Bronx DA Darcel Clark rejects a harm reduction strategy and Governor Cuomo chooses inaction.

Long after the American public became aware mass incarceration was a failed experiment, Harris failed to support progressive measures to alleviate some of its impact.

New York would benefit from looking at Texas, which is surprisingly progressive on various criminal justice issues. But while legislative reforms are necessary, they are in no way sufficient.

The latest on reform prospects in Arizona, Iowa, Missouri, Nevada, New Mexico, and New York

“We don’t believe local government and local communities should be making money by causing harm to other community members,” said one advocate.

Police transparency, marijuana expungement, and more: Jerry Brown signed a series of reforms that just went into effect, but their implementation hinge in part on local officials.

Louisiana phases out nonunanimous juries, Floridians regains the right to vote, Houston moves toward changing its bail system, and more.

Can New Mexico provide a new model for ambitious voting-rights reform?

Two counties in northwest Arkansas joined the 287(g) program with ICE more than a decade ago. A coalition of local groups is organizing to end that cooperation.

These outlets have bought into and perpetuated a zero-sum view of social justice that is false and pernicious.

Aout 500 prosecutors and sheriffs will be elected in 2019, nearly all in Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia.

As a growing number of reformers run as prosecutors, the PDAA’s public role and rhetoric don’t bear significant traces of these changes.

But it will still retain a system that is harsh by national standards and will disenfranchise large numbers of residents.

“We saw [the prosecutor’s] race as being very pivotal in restoring hope to the community and in changing the course of history.”

Cambridge, Mass., joined a small number of jurisdictions around the country that mandate transparency and community control over the use of surveillance technology.