Can the ‘Wisdom of a Second Look’ Curb America’s Appetite for Harsh Sentences?
APRIL 16, 2021 – Extreme prison sentences have become the norm despite evidence showing that they have not made our communities safer. In this op-ed in The Crime Report, District of Columbia Attorney General Karl Racine, FAMM President Kevin Ring, and FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky discuss why policymakers must enact reforms that offer second chances and avenues for people serving lengthy sentences to be released when incarceration is no longer in the public’s best interest.
“There is no basis to conclude that the commission of a crime, regardless of its nature, should define a person forever…. People grow and change, and our criminal legal system cannot dispense justice without a means to address that undeniable truth.”
Police departments – not taxpayers – should pay the bill for misconduct settlements
MARCH 29, 2021 – In the wake of a historic $27 million settlement between the city of Minneapolis and the family of George Floyd, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky authored this MarketWatch op-ed explaining why police departments, not cash-strapped local governments, should shoulder the financial burden of law enforcement misconduct and how, more broadly, we can reform the system so these tragedies never occur in the first place.
“Civil settlements should not be the only recourse for victims of police wrongdoing. But when they are, we should ensure that those responsible for the systemic failures — or for standing in the way of reform — pay the price for the resulting tragedies.”
How the deadly Texas storm was a reminder of an inhumane US prison system
MARCH 19, 2021 – Fear of violence, lack of privacy, inadequate healthcare, and malnutrition are just a few of the defining features of American prisons that create a traumatic and deeply disturbing experience for those behind bars. In this USA Today op-ed, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky discusses how prison conditions may contribute to higher recidivism rates and why prosecutors must play a key role in accepting responsibility for addressing inhumane conditions of confinement and bringing about change
“[D]espite piles of evidence showing that stress and trauma are major drivers of violence, we still respond by relying on prisons defined by constant stress and trauma. Then, when many of those previously incarcerated struggle when they get out and return to the system, we wonder why these approaches are not working.”
Why It’s Time to Abandon Drug Courts
MARCH 5, 2021 – For the last 30 years, the primary way in which the criminal justice system has attempted to connect people with substance use disorders to healthcare is via drug courts. However, research shows that people who use drugs need community-based harm reduction and treatment services, not the threat of criminal sanction. In this op-ed in The Crime Report, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky and Northeastern University Professor of Law and Health Sciences and Faculty Director of the Health in Justice Action Lab Leo Beletsky share why we must look beyond drug courts and bring new thinking to drug policy.
“If we want to move beyond the discredited War on Drugs and save lives, we must abandon the fixation on drug courts, invest in proven solutions, and let healthcare professionals ― not lawyers and judges ― guide treatment.”
It’s time for DA associations to stop standing in the way of reform
FEB. 23, 2021 – Prosecutor associations have been tethered to past “tough on crime” thinking and have acted as powerful obstructionists of justice reform efforts. In this Orange County Register op-ed, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky and Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy Associate Director Tyler Yeargain delineate concerns with these organizations and the importance of not allowing them to derail criminal justice reforms being advanced by reform-minded prosecutors around the nation.
“It’s time for prosecutors’ associations to respect the decision of voters and accept the evidence — failed punitive approaches are not the path to justice, and these groups must stop undermining voters’ desire for reform.”