Insights & Information

A new report from The Sentencing Project suggests that while the initiative known as Justice Reinvestment has helped open a dialogue about justice system reform, it has not produced significant reductions in state correctional populations. Ending Mass Incarceration: Charting a New Justice Reinvestment highlights actions states can take to achieve the Justice Reinvestment initiative’s original mission, which is based on the principal of cutting justice system budgets and reinvesting the savings into communities that have the highest rates of incarceration. Authors suggest that states reduce all forms of incarceration and correctional supervision, reinvest in high incarceration communities, involve stakeholders and non-governmental entities in the planning and implementation processes, and create a multi-year plan for implementation and evaluation. Access the report here.

In a recent report, the Sentencing Project explores the potential costs and benefits regarding video visitation for children whose parents are incarcerated. The report finds that video visitation can potentially benefit children if costs are not prohibitive, if visitation can occur from home or a place near the home, if frequent visits are allowed, and if video visits are used to supplement face-to-face visits instead of replace them. Click here to read the full report.

The Sentencing Project released a summary of the 2012 Democratic and Republican Party platforms on criminal justice policy. Both parties have legislative goals relating to enhancing rehabilitation and reducing recidivism. The full summary can be found here.

With the 2012 election only two months away, the issue of voting rights has gained increasing public attention. A recent report by The Sentencing Project highlights the disparities between states regarding levels of felon disenfranchisement. Authors Christopher Uggen, Sarah Shannon, and Jeff Manza note that over the past 35 years, the number of disenfranchised people has risen from 1.17 to 5.85 million. Due to post-sentence disenfranchisement laws, 2.6 million of the total disenfranchised population have completed their sentences but still cannot vote. The African-American population is affected disproportionately by disenfranchisement laws, as 1 in 13 African Americans of voting age across the nation are prohibited from voting. Click here to read the full report.

The Sentencing Project has released a new report, Too Good to Be True: Private Prisons in America, which details the history of private prisons in America, documents the increase in their use, and examines their purported benefits. Thirty states and the federal government had some level of prison privatization in 2010 (Illinois is not among them). The amount of privately held state prisoners increased by 40 percent between 1999 and 2010, while the number of federal inmates held privately increased by 784 percent. In contrast, the total prison population experienced a 17 percent increase during this period. The report includes a comprehensive chart on state and federal privatization levels.

The Sentencing Project has released a new briefing paper that documents the growing trend of states to close prisons. Authors note that this trend will likely result in a reduction of more than 13,000 prison beds by year end. The report, On the Chopping Block: State Prison Closings, finds that at least 13 states have closed or are considering closing correctional facilities this year, reversing a 40-year trend of prison expansion. Leading the nation in prison closings are New York State, which is considering a reduction of 3,800 beds, and Texas, with plans for a decline of 2,139 beds. Other states that are closing prisons are Colorado, Connecticut, Georgia, Michigan, Florida, Nevada, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Washington, and Wisconsin.  To read the full report, click here.

This week U.S. Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VA) and Rob Portman (R-OH) introduced legislation to reauthorize the Second Chance Act. First passed with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2008, the law promotes evidence-based programming to aid prisoner reentry and thereby improve public safety. Since the law’s passage 250 grants have been awarded in nearly every state providing substance abuse treatment, employment and mentoring services, among others, to improve the transition from incarceration to communities. The Sentencing Project is supporting Senators Leahy and Portman as they move the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2011 quickly through the Judiciary Committee, and encourages supporters to contact their Senators through the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 to urge them to support the continuation of reentry programming. The group has also drafted a letter to leaders in the Senate and House Appropriations Committees asking for full funding of the Second Chance Act in 2012, and urges organizations to please consider signing on. Please contact Kara Gotsch at kgotsch@sentencingproject.org by close of business Friday, June 24 if you would like to do so.

As the government attempts to find ways to spend less, sentencing reform offers a potential solution. Since the 1980s, as prison populations have grown rapidly so too has corrections spending.  The Sentencing Project has provided a draft letter for constituents to contact their federal legislators and urge them to reform sentencing policies in ways that can both save money and maintain public safety.