One of the few successful case studies of bipartisan legislation has been around criminal justice reform. Sarah applauds the efforts of Senate Democrats and Republicans in passing the First Step Act, which helps inmates successfully return to society after serving their sentence. It also reduces some sentences for certain low-level, nonviolent offenders while preserving important law enforcement tools to tackle criminal enterprises.
But that is just a first step and we need to go even further. We have to end cash bail, promote community policing programs, and expand access to mental health care. Sarah also supports decriminalizing possession of small amounts of marijuana. By doing so, we can lower our prison populations, save taxpayer dollars, focus policing on more serious crimes, and begin closing the racial gap in drug arrests.
Successful criminal justice reform in America must address the following:
- Eliminating widespread racial inequity in our criminal justice system
- Ending mass incarceration in America
- Increasing federal funding for programs designed to successfully reintegrate returning citizens into their communities
- Removing profit incentives from our criminal justice system, specifically: banning private prisons, ending cash bail, and eliminating the use of prison labor