Archives: Criminal Justice / Articles
Archives: Criminal Justice / Articles (page 6)
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Iowa Passes Series of Criminal Justice Reforms
Iowa recently became another state to tackle criminal justice reform. Governor Terry Branstad on May 12, 2016 signed into law a criminal justice reform package that provides more leniency…
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Oklahoma Passes Four Criminal Justice Reform Measures
Oklahoma policymakers are well aware of the challenges facing the Sooner State’s criminal justice system, which include laying claim to the second-highest incarceration rate in the country. Legislators have concentrated on…
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Sentencing Juveniles as Adults is Not Always The Best Policy
The issue of presumptively treating 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system has been discussed and debated in a number of states. Currently, 41 states presumptively treat 17-year-olds as…
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Iowa must join wave of sentencing reform
Weldon Angelos was 25 years old when he was sentenced to 55 years in prison for selling a few pounds of marijuana to a police informant while in possession of…
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New Report Shows Benefits of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Reform at State Level
State prison systems have been unsuccessfully scrambling to keep pace with the increasing number of inmates since the 1980s. Many penal facilities throughout the country are significantly over-capacity and draining…
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Maryland State Senate Unanimously Passes Justice Reinvestment Act
On March 24, 2016, the Maryland State Senate passed Senate Bill 1005 (S.B. 1005), titled Justice Reinvestment Act, by a 46-0 vote. S.B. 1005 requires the Maryland Department of…
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Oklahoma Advances Criminal Justice Reform Measures
According to a U.S. Department of Justice report, Oklahoma had the second-highest incarceration rate in the country as of 2014, jailing 703 of every 100,000 citizens. To keep pace,…
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Transparency Critical to Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
Civil asset forfeiture abuses in various states throughout the country are well-documented. There are several instances where individuals have seen their property seized by the state or federal government, despite…
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Virginia General Assembly Unanimously Passes Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
On March 10, 2016, the Virginia House of Delegates unanimously voted to reform a certain aspect of their civil asset forfeiture system by passing SB 457. The bill changes the…
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Tennessee Senate Passes Ban-the-Box Legislation
The Tennessee Senate recently passed Senate Bill 2440 with a 25 to 7 vote. The bill, colloquially known as “ban-the box,” requires state employers to delay inquiring about criminal…
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Prison Programming with Education Focus Reduces Recidivism
For every dollar invested in a prison education program it will ultimately save taxpayers between $4 and $5 in reincarceration costs. The relative price of educating prisoners is negligible in relation to the annual cost of incarceration.
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Exorbitant Costs Exposed in Los Angeles Juvenile Justice System
The Los Angeles Times recently reported on the high annual expenditures associated with housing juvenile offenders in Los Angeles. According to a recent county audit, it costs over $230,000…
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California’s Golden Opportunity on Sentencing Reform
California Governor Jerry Brown has proposed a ballot initiative that aims to alleviate the state’s overcrowded prisons. Brown’s proposal will reduce the prison population by hastening prison release programs…
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Charles Koch, Senator Bernie Sanders Agree on Criminal Justice Reform
Charles Koch, in a Washington Post Op-Ed, applauded Senator Bernie Sanders for his proposals on criminal justice reform. “The United States’ next president must be willing to rethink decades…
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Alaskan Law Enforcement Officials Emphasize the Need for Criminal Justice Reform
An op-ed published in the Juneau Empire and written by two law enforcement officials, including Alaska Commissioner of the Department of Public Safety Gary Folger, stated they were encouraged…
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Louisiana Newspaper: Treat 17-Year-Old Suspects as Juveniles
The issue of presumptively treating 17-year-olds as adults in the criminal justice system has made headlines in Louisiana. Currently, 41 states presumptively treat 17-year-olds as juveniles. Louisiana remains one of…
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Illinois: Reform Criminal Justice to Reform Spending
According to Article 1, Section 11 of The Illinois Constitution, criminal sentencing requires that “all penalties shall be determined both according to the seriousness of the offense and with the…
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Pew Notes a Number of States Are Examining Growing Prison Populations
The United States currently has the “highest incarceration rate in the world” and many states are examining ways in which to reduce their prison population. For example, Maryland,…
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Presidential Candidates Highlight Criminal Justice Reform
ALEC supports reducing incarceration rates by providing alternatives to incarceration for nonviolent, low-risk offenders. Furthermore, ALEC favors alternatives to mandatory minimums for offenders who meet certain criteria by giving greater sentencing discretion to judges.
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Iowa Governor Terry Branstad Pushes for Criminal Justice Reform
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad spoke of the need for a series of criminal justice reforms during his January 12, 2016 Condition of the State address to the Iowa…