National Criminal Justice Commission Act

05/21/2012

Overincarceration

Seeing Is Believing: Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Is Possible

By Jennifer Bellamy, Washington Legislative Office & Dan Zeidman, ACLU Washington Legislative Office at 6:38pm

Laura W. Murphy, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, makes opening remarks

Vanita Gupta, ACLU deputy legal director, Center for Justice, serves as moderator

The panel, from left to right, Texas State Rep. Jerry Madden, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, ACLU’s Vanita Gupta, Georgia State Sen. Curt Thompson, Nebraska State Sen. Dwite Pedersen. (Not pictured, Ohio State Sen. Bill Seitz)

The panel, from left to right, ACLU’s Vanita Gupta, Texas State Rep. Jerry Madden, Pennsylvania Department of Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, Ohio State Sen. Bill Seitz, Georgia State Sen. Curt Thompson, Nebraska State Sen. Dwite Pedersen

10/21/2011

Overincarceration

Too Big to Ignore: Criminal Justice Reform Can't Wait

By Jennifer Bellamy, Washington Legislative Office at 9:45am

An enduring myth is that when an ostrich is afraid it will bury its head in the sand, thinking that if it cannot see, it cannot be seen. The truth is that an ostrich lowers its head when ready to fight. Ignoring a problem will not make it go away.

Criminal justice reform can't wait. The problem of mass incarceration cannot be shelved or swept under the rug. The problem is now too big to hide, and hiding from fairness, efficiency and equity undermines our most fundamental values. Real leadership responds to problems; it does not ignore them. Today, there are over 2.3 million men and women in prisons throughout the United States. We incarcerate more of our population than any country in the world, and the increased incarceration of offenders with drug offenses represents the most significant source of growth. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, our government spends nearly $69 billion on our correctional system alone.

American Civil Liberties Union