Mass Clemency Is a Necessary Response to Mass Incarceration
The Point Clemency is a powerful tool for correcting the injustices of the criminal legal system. Governors who have this power should use it to immediately send thousands of people home from prison to their families and communities. Governors must use clemency to address mass criminalization and its harms: Governors should use categorical clemency, which […]
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Jun 25, 2021
States Should Give Temporary Guaranteed Income to People Exiting Incarceration
Barriers to employment, housing, and basic necessities make stability difficult, if not entirely out of reach, for individuals returning to their community after prison. States can improve public safety and increase postrelease success by providing a temporary guaranteed income to people exiting prison.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Jun 15, 2021
Manhattan’s Next District Attorney Must Reject Extreme Sentencing
Manhattan’s next district attorney should consider less punitive alternatives instead.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Jun 10, 2021
Stop Fearmongering About Progressive Prosecutors and Decarceral Policies
Larry Krasner’s clear win in the Philadelphia District Attorney primary election should have been a wake-up call to journalists who spent weeks breathlessly painting the race as a referendum on progressive prosecutors and their decarceral policies. Instead, they doubled down, redirecting their fearmongering to other cities. This reckless reporting needs to stop.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Jun 04, 2021
Manhattan’s Next District Attorney Must End the Prosecution of Sex Work
Arrest, prosecution, and incarceration have long been wielded against sex workers, with Black, brown, and LGBTQ sex workers disproportionately bearing the brunt of this abuse. Manhattan’s next district attorney must stop prosecuting offenses relating to sex work in order to scale back this system of harm.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski May 26, 2021
Eviction Records Should Be Expunged
The filing of an eviction—even without merit—can prevent someone from renting a future home, ruin a person’s credit, and even hurt employment and insurance prospects. It is time for government officials to put protections in place to prevent the long-term damage that eviction records cause.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski May 20, 2021
Philadelphia’s Next District Attorney Must Continue to Reject the Failed War on Drugs
Since District Attorney Larry Krasner took office, Philadelphia has seen a significant drop in drug prosecutions, focusing attention instead on treatment and evidence-based practices. Whoever wins the Democratic primary must continue down this corrective path.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski May 14, 2021
Connecticut Should Give Renters a Right to Counsel for Eviction Hearings
One-third of Connecticut’s residents are renters, leaving them vulnerable to eviction and its devastating consequences. Lawmakers can help renters remain in their homes by passing the statewide renters’ right-to-counsel bill.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski May 07, 2021
Philadelphia’s District Attorney Must Continue the Work to End Mass Supervision
On May 18, Philadelphia will choose a Democratic nominee for this year’s district attorney race. While incumbent District Attorney Larry Krasner has taken steps to reduce Philadelphia’s probation and parole population, whoever wins the primary must do more work to address Philadelphia’s mass supervision problem.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski May 06, 2021
The Biden Administration Should Not Send Thousands of People Back to Prison
Last year, thousands of incarcerated people were returned to their families and communities in order to reduce the spread of the coronavirus in federal prisons. The Biden administration should reverse the last-minute Trump administration policy that would send them back.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Apr 30, 2021
States Should Abolish Juvenile Life Without Parole
Some states still allow judges to sentence children and adolescents to die in prison. Maryland just became the 25th state to abolish juvenile life-without-parole sentences—the other 25 should follow suit.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Apr 26, 2021
Maryland Governor Should Sign Bill Giving Renters Access to Counsel During Evictions
With the passage of HB18 on April 12, 2021, Maryland is positioned to become the first state to provide its renters with attorneys during eviction proceedings. Governor Larry Hogan should sign this bill to help keep people housed, employed, and safe.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Apr 16, 2021
Prosecutors Should Stop Seeking the Death Penalty
A growing number of Americans oppose the death penalty, but prosecutors—even some who call themselves “progressive”—continue to seek it. All prosecutors should stop pursuing and protecting capital convictions.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Apr 15, 2021
States Should Follow New York’s Lead on Restricting Solitary Confinement
Prisons and jails routinely use prolonged solitary confinement—holding someone in a cell for more than 22 hours a day with no meaningful human contact. New York just passed the HALT Act to limit this inhumane practice, and others states should do the same.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Apr 13, 2021
States Should Abolish Technical Violations of Probation and Parole
“Technical violations” of probation or parole are by definition minor—forgetting to update your address, showing up to a meeting late, or missing a curfew—but often get people locked up. State lawmakers should ban incarceration for technical violations of probation and parole.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Apr 09, 2021
Cities Can Fund a Right to Counsel for Eviction Hearings—And They Should
Legal representation during an eviction hearing significantly improves a person’s chances of remaining in their home. Among other ways, cities can use the funding from federal pandemic relief bills to ensure their residents have this critical legal representation.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Apr 07, 2021
States Should Make Schools Police-Free
Millions of students go to schools with a constant police presence but no readily available counselors, nurses, psychologists, or social workers. States should remove police from schools and shift that funding to professionals trained to support students.
Molly Greene Apr 05, 2021
Local Officials Need to Invest in Violence Interruption Programs
Violence interruption programs rely on community outreach and engagement to stop violence before it starts. Local officials can make their neighborhoods safer by funding community-led violence interruption programs.
Molly Greene Apr 01, 2021
States Should Abolish “Felony Murder” Laws
A person who didn’t commit murder shouldn’t be charged with it—but felony murder laws allow prosecutors to do just that. States should repeal these draconian and unjust laws.
Molly Greene Mar 30, 2021
Oakland’s Plan to Shift Calls Away from Police Should Go Even Further
Oakland plans to shift mental health crisis response from police to a new civilian unit within its fire department. This new pilot—MACRO—should be expanded to further minimize the role of armed police officers in responding to people who need medical attention or are struggling with homelessness.
Molly Greene Mar 25, 2021
Governor Cox Should Veto Utah’s Attempt to Roll Back Bail Reform
Last year, the Utah legislature passed a bill to help decrease the number of people incarcerated simply because they are too poor to buy their freedom. This month, the legislature passed a bill that would repeal the 2020 law. Governor Spencer Cox can save bail reform with a veto.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Mar 23, 2021
Prosecutors Need Conviction Integrity Units That Work
Over the past 32 years, more than 2,500 people have been exonerated—many of whom were convicted because of police or prosecutorial misconduct. Prosecutors have a responsibility to meaningfully review claims of innocence and swiftly correct those injustices.
Molly Greene Mar 19, 2021
Biden Must Nominate U.S. Attorneys Who Will Implement Needed Criminal Justice Reforms
President Biden’s decisions about who to nominate as federal prosecutors must reflect his campaign commitment to criminal justice reform—and the changed national focus on progressive prosecution. A broad group of organizations released a letter on Wednesday calling on Biden to do just that.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Mar 17, 2021
States Should Not Deprive People in Prison of the Right to Vote
The right to vote is critical to our democracy. States must restore it to incarcerated citizens.
Molly Greene Mar 16, 2021
Give Renters a Right to Counsel for Eviction Hearings
Cities can keep people housed, employed, and healthy by giving them lawyers to help guide them through eviction proceedings.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Mar 12, 2021
Houston Must Stop Neglecting Its Rising Jail Population
COVID-19 has spread rapidly through the Harris County Jail, increasing the risk of infection and fatality not just in the jail, but the surrounding community. Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg and Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo must immediately take steps to reduce its jail population.
Molly Greene Mar 10, 2021
Cities Should Repeal “Crime-Free” Housing Laws
Many cities have laws that require landlords to kick people out of their homes if the police are called too many times—even if the calls are the result of domestic violence or racial discrimination. Cities need to get rid of these so-called “crime-free” housing laws.
Molly Greene Mar 08, 2021
Biden Should Cancel Student Debt
43 million people face difficulties buying homes, starting businesses, completing their education, or supporting their families because of federal student loans that collectively amount to $1.57 trillion of debt. Biden can get rid of it entirely.
Molly Greene Mar 04, 2021
Safe Injection Sites Are Moving Forward—DOJ Should Get Out of the Way
Safe injection sites are a proven method for reducing overdose deaths, but the Department of Justice has been using a 1986 law that President Joe Biden championed in the Senate to prevent their operation. DOJ should step aside.
Molly Greene Mar 03, 2021
States Should Legalize Marijuana
The Point New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recently signed a bill making New Jersey the 14th state to legalize marijuana. Other states should follow suit. Marijuana shouldn’t be used to lock people up or hold people back: States must ensure that no one is arrested or incarcerated for possessing or selling marijuana. For decades, the […]
Molly Greene Mar 02, 2021
America Needs a Civilian Climate Corps
FDR’s Civilian Conservation Corps created three million jobs and planted over three billion trees. Biden’s Climate Corps should be even bolder, as we face dire economic and climate crises.
Molly Greene Feb 26, 2021
Prosecutors Must Add Sentencing Review Units to Their Offices
Thousands of people are locked inside prisons serving sentences that would never be imposed today. Prosecutors can help right the wrongs of our past by establishing sentencing review units to review and correct extreme, disproportionate, and unjust sentences.
Molly Greene Feb 25, 2021
Biden Must Revitalize the Bureau of Justice Statistics
In the Trump administration, criminal justice data was hidden, manipulated, and politicized. If President Biden wants to enact meaningful criminal justice reform, he must fix—and fully fund—the Bureau of Justice Statistics.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Feb 23, 2021
State Lawmakers Can Help Create Real Community Safety
States should pass legislation and direct their budgets to programs and services that create real community safety instead of asking law enforcement to respond to problems that armed officers are ill-equipped to solve.
Molly Greene Feb 22, 2021
St. Louis’s Next Mayor Must Expand Use of Non-Police Responders
A key part of public safety is making sure the right people respond to the right needs. St. Louis’s next mayor can ensure that trained civilian responders, instead of armed police officers, respond to mental health and substance use crises.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Feb 19, 2021
Stop Using Police for Traffic Stops
The goal of traffic enforcement is safety. To keep residents safe, cities should shift enforcement to a civilian agency and increase automated enforcement.
Anna Kurien Feb 16, 2021
It’s Time to Put Money in People’s Pockets
Giving people money so that they can meet their basic needs—food, shelter, clothing—is an old idea that is gaining new momentum. Cities should implement guaranteed income programs.
Molly Greene Feb 12, 2021
Give Kids Aging Out of the Foster Care System Money To Survive
One of America’s most populous counties is providing an income guarantee to young adults who age out of the foster care system, providing much-needed support for vulnerable youth transitioning into adulthood. Other cities and counties should follow Santa Clara County’s lead.
Molly Greene Feb 11, 2021
Biden Must Immediately Commute Death Row
Biden wants to end the death penalty. His first and most important step must be commuting the sentence of every person on federal death row.
Nikki Trautman Baszynski Feb 10, 2021
The Senate Should Answer Biden’s Call for Public Interest Judicial Nominees
President Biden is looking to nominate public defenders, civil rights attorneys, and legal aid lawyers to the federal judiciary to offset the current corporate- and prosecutor-heavy bench. Senators should help him do so.
Molly Greene Feb 08, 2021