Want Prosecutorial Reform? Start With Curtailing the Influence of Police Unions.
AUG. 24, 2020 – Police accountability requires independent prosecutors able and willing to investigate police misconduct. In this op-ed in The Appeal, Loudoun County, VA Commonwealth’s Attorney Buta Biberaj and FJP Executive Director Miriam Aroni Krinsky discuss the importance of ending real and perceived conflicts and financial ties between prosecutors and police unions as a critical first step towards restoring public trust in the justice system.
“Police unions are zealous opponents of any and all police accountability – so the time is now to protect our communities and ensure that these unions have no influence (and are perceived as having no influence) over prosecutors, whose core duty is to bring about equal accountability for all who break the law, including police officers.”
U.S. taxpayers already pay a high price to support America’s giant prison population. Now COVID-19 is costing them even more
AUG. 20, 2020 – In this op-ed in MarketWatch, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky and Right on Crime’s Marc Levin discuss the dire need to reduce the number of people in jails and prisons in the wake of COVID-19 from both a humanitarian and fiscal responsibility perspective. Over-incarceration doesn’t reduce crime, poses an enormous burden to taxpayers, and – in the context of the current public health crisis – poses a deadly threat to both those behind bars as well as in the community.
“Protecting the public and delivering justice must always remain a core government function, but now more than ever, this mission must be accomplished through smart policies that are fiscally responsible.”
Youth Prisons Are Ineffective and Should Have Closed Long Before the Coronavirus Hit
AUG. 13, 2020 – In this op-ed in the Sacramento Bee, Gladys Carrión, former commissioner of youth justice services for New York State and City and co-chair of Youth Correctional Leaders for Justice, and FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky discuss efforts in California to close state-operated youth prisons and instead provide community-based responses and services for young people. Locking children in prison is inhumane, unjust, and ultimately harms public safety. Children deserve support and second chances close to home – and the dramatic reduction in incarceration in response to COVID-19 shows how the end of youth prisons is in sight.
“In this moment, there is ample incentive to close these giant monuments to failure…Now is the time to heed the collective call from experts to chart a better pathway forward for our youth, as well as our communities.”
Is your DA a reformer or a business-as-usual prosecutor?
JULY 29, 2020 – As millions take to the streets demanding an overhaul of policing, prosecutors shouldn’t be left out of those calls for change. Read this op-ed in the New York Daily News by St. Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Wesley Bell and FJP Executive Director Miriam Aroni Krinsky about the power DAs have to transform the justice system – and the need for communities to hold them accountable.
“With the stroke of a pen local elected prosecutors could radically shrink the footprint of the justice system today…. A new generation of prosecutors, elected by communities on a mandate of reform, have already started, with nearly 50 joining a statement calling for the transformation of policing. So as we collectively work toward lasting systemic change, where is your DA in this critical moment?”
How jury selection discriminates against Black citizens
JULY 24, 2020 – Juries that are truly reflective of the community are an essential element of an effective and equitable justice system and are integral to building public trust. This op-ed in the San Francisco Chronicle, Durham County District Attorney Satana Deberry, FJP Executive Director Miriam Aroni Krinsky, and Director of the Reshaping Prosecution Program at the Vera Institute of Justice Jamila Hodge explores the need for prosecutors to abandon peremptory strikes to ensure that no one is prevented from serving on a jury due to race, and that individuals on trial are judged by a jury of their peers.
“Justice Thurgood Marshall cautioned that the landmark Batson case would not ‘end the illegitimate use of the peremptory challenge.’ History has proven him correct. It is up to prosecutors to change that trajectory and put an end to this practice.”