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.
California Goes 0-2 This Week on Prison Reform
A few weeks ago, we looked in detail at California's pending "wobbler" bill, which would have allowed prosecutors to charge drug possession as a misdemeanor at their discretion. The measure was a modest reform that left the charging power in prosecutors' hands, and it passed both legislative chambers. Slam dunk, right?
Nope. Governor Brown vetoed the bill this week, saying that it would be more appropriate to review the state's drug laws at a later date.
In the meantime, the U.S. Supreme Court announced that it would not hear California's appeal of the federal court order requiring the state to shed another 9,000 prisoners by year's end. In response, Gov. Brown signed a three-year contract with the Corrections Corporation of America to house 2,300 prisoners.
The state is currently in negotiations with the attorneys representing state prisoners, and the court asked the two sides to produce recommendations to address the court's order by next week. Stay tuned.
Other Noteworthy Items from the Past Week
- Former Newark mayor Cory Booker was elected to the New Jersey Senate, adding a new voice for criminal justice reform to the U.S. Congress. In a position paper released earlier this year, Mr. Booker proposed a number of changes to "a revolving door system that not only largely fails to rehabilitate, but too often makes reoffending commonplace and most definitely is not helping to make our communities safer." Among his recommendations are the elimination of mandatory minimums for certain offenses and reducing admissions to prison for nonviolent offenses.
- The New Orleans mayor's budget proposal allocates no funds to implement the reforms required by the federal consent decree mandating major improvements to conditions at Orleans Parish Prison. At least the proposal honors another consent decree, proposing to spend $11.9 million in 2014 to continue implementing a consent decree mandating sweeping improvements to the Police Department.
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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