The overall crime rate is nearly as low as it’s been in decades, but that hasn’t stopped officials from pushing draconian measures likely only to fuel mass incarceration and harm public safety. It’s time for a different approach.
Incarcerated people have testified before state lawmakers about legislation that would directly impact their lives, including bills to change the cost of prison communications and rein in extreme sentencing practices and the use of solitary confinement.
At the same time, state lawmakers are pushing to incarcerate more people pretrial.
Some lawmakers are citing the violence in Washington as a reason to pass laws that criminalize protesting, but far-right extremists aren’t the target.
Lawmakers say Republicans used deceptive tactics to pass the controversial bill. The legislative record tells a different story.
The content of New York’s Domestic Violence Survivors Justice Act represents a new kind of lawmaking—a process that originates with the people who have the most at stake and is shepherded by a diverse coalition.
Legislation passed in Massachusetts and pending in California would set a minimum age for children to enter the juvenile justice system.
The history of child sex abuse legislation in the United States follows a well-worn pattern: a chilling incident rouses public anger and fear, to which lawmakers respond with expansive, emotionally charged legislative action. The 1994 Jacob Wetterling Act, the first law to establish federal guidelines requiring states to implement sex offender registries, was named after […]
Two United State Senators have proposed reforming money bail as a way to lower the incarceration rate in the country. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) are co-sponsoring the Pretrial Integrity and Safety Act, which would “encourage states to reform or replace the bail system.” The U.S. Department of Justice would provide grants […]