Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it's ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we've spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.
In Alabama, New Sentencing Guidelines Take Effect
Alabama has the most overcrowded prison system in the country—its state prisons are holding nearly double the number of people they are designed to hold (see p. 31 here). Unused kitchen space is being used to house prisoners. Serious overcrowding is a dangerous situation for guards and prisoners, and it is potentially unconstitutional to boot—Alabama’s prisons are as overcrowded as California’s were when a federal court intervened in 2011.
State lawmakers know that something must be done about the situation. Republican State Senator Cam Ward wrote last year in an editorial that “sentencing reform is one of the biggest issues facing the state of Alabama.” Seeking smarter responses to nonviolent offenses—and wanting to avoid a federal lawsuit a lá California—Sen. Ward introduced a bill last year to allow the state sentencing commission to set presumptive sentencing standards that would go into effect unless lawmakers rejected them. The bill became law last spring.
This month, the bill has started to bear fruit. The sentencing commission’s first set of presumptive guidelines took effect on October 1, resulting in lower sentences for a host of nonviolent offenses. Depoliticizing the sentencing reform process worked; the new guidelines are, in effect, omnibus sentencing reform for nonviolent offenses. And because the guidelines are presumptive rather than voluntary, judges are required to follow them unless they can show a compelling reason to issue a higher or lower sentence.
Among other things, the new guidelines will mitigate the effect of the state’s severe habitual offender law, which levies longer sentences on defendants with prior convictions. Under that law, a defendant convicted of a Class C offense (the lowest felony level) with at least two prior felony convictions must be charged as though he had committed a Class A offense (the highest felony level). That means a minimum of 10 years in prison, even if his three felonies were as minor as drug possession or forgery. Looking at the new worksheet, someone convicted of a third drug possession felony would now appear to be eligible for a non-prison sentence.
You can find local reactions to the new guidelines here and here, and you can learn more about the new guidelines at the Alabama Sentencing Commission’s webpage.
Other Noteworthy Items from the Past Week
- A new report from the Campaign for Youth Justice finds that over the past eight years, 23 states have acted to reduce the prosecution of youth as adults. Meanwhile, violent crime by young people fell to its lowest level in 32 years in 2012.
- Illinois’ new mandatory minimum sentences for illegal gun possession are projected to cost $1 billion over the next ten years.
- A new study finds that Wisconsin imprisons black men at the highest rate of any state.
- In a poll released this week, 58% of Texas voters support making marijuana legal for adults and regulating it like alcohol. See Grits for Breakfast for more.
Want to know how addicted your state is to incarceration? Check out our state legislation map for updates on recent activity in state legislatures to reduce prison populations, with contextual information about each state.
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