SJC Exchange Library

Originally posted by Wanda Bertram on 01/24/2024

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Hi friends,

This last year saw the return of a few draconian criminal justice reform policies that would be more at home in 1993 than 2023. This morning, the Prison Policy Initiative published a new briefing aggregating these new, regressive criminal justice policies into a few topical lists, and providing context, research, and arguments to help you push back against similar laws should they crop up in your state.

Our briefing discusses:

• Harmful drug penalties, particularly for fentanyl possession and distribution;
• "Truth In Sentencing"-style laws reducing people's ability to earn early release;
• Laws criminalizing homelessness or requiring municipalities to enforce anti-homelessness laws;
• Budget appropriations for hundreds of millions of dollars for new prison construction;
• Laws empowering the state to remove progressive prosecutors.

Our new briefing is more of a guide to pushing back against these laws than it is a comprehensive list, but we welcome you to alert us to stuff that happened (or is happening) in your state.

Take care,

Wanda

Prison Policy Initiative