“It’s Time For Drug Policy Reform – In America and Across the Globe”
OCT. 19, 2019 – While the US has been fighting a failed war on drugs, much of the rest of the world has chosen a different path – one grounded in public health responses over criminalization. In this Salon op-ed, Louise Arbour, the former High Commissioner for Human Rights, former justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy; former Premier of Western Australia and member of the Global Commission on Drug Policy Geoff Gallop; and FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky discuss how United States drug policy has failed, and why prosecutors and other elected leaders must embrace harm reduction strategies that have a proven track record of success in other parts of the world.
“Criminalizing people who use drugs doesn’t just fail to make people safer and healthier, it makes them sicker and more likely to overdose in the shadows.”
“DACA makes our jobs easier and communities safer”
OCT. 17, 2019 – DACA helps police and prosecutors keep communities safe. In an op-ed in The Hill, Washtenaw County Sheriff Jerry Clayton, Nueces County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez and FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky discuss how DACA fortifies trust between law enforcement and communities and why they joined 80 law enforcement and criminal justice leaders in an amicus brief before the Supreme Court defending the program.
“Put simply: DACA makes our jobs easier and, in turn, our communities safer.”
Reexamining Whom We Put to Death in the Name of Justice
OCT. 7, 2019 – There is a growing consensus that the death penalty is ineffective, so why does the US still cling to it when so much of the rest of the world has left it behind? In this Philadelphia Inquirer op-ed District Attorney-Elect Jody Owens (Hinds County, MS) and FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky address this question and discuss the connection between the death penalty and the lynchings of the Jim Crow South, the deeply troubling racial disparities that persist in application of the death penalty today, and why the 29 states that still employ this sanction should align with other states and countries that have ended this practice.
“The United States is the only Western democracy to still embrace capital punishment. With the seventh highest rate of execution, we are aligned with countries known for abysmal human rights records, while much of Europe lost its appetite for state-sanctioned death after the horrors of World War II.”
Orange County’s Informant Scandal Reveals Deep Concerns with Use of Jailhouse Informants
SEPT. 9, 2019 – Elected prosecutors have an obligation to protect the integrity of the criminal justice process. The jailhouse informant scandal in Orange County, California – where authorities paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to jailhouse informants who coerced confessions from witnesses with threats of violence and intimidation – is illustrative of the deep concerns with these practices. In this USA Today op-ed, FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky and former Superintendent of the New Orleans Police Department Ronal Serpas discuss the dangers of jailhouse informant programs and the need for prosecutors to focus on fairness and the integrity of the justice system – rather than simply “winning” convictions – to protect and promote public trust.
AG Barr is wrong: Criminal justice reform is making us safer
AUG. 27, 2019 – As criminal justice leaders increasingly are rejecting past failed“tough on crime” policies, they are embracing new approaches backed by research and grounded in compassion and common sense. Yet, these leaders face opposition from some who would have us return to a bygone era of harsh punishments that has made the US an international outlier and the world leader of incarceration. In this Morning Consult op-ed, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, former San Diego Police Chief Bill Lansdowne and FJP Executive Director Miriam Krinsky refute the unfounded attacks Attorney General William Barr has leveled against reform-minded prosecutors, and recount how a new generation of prosecutors are joining the fight to build safer, stronger and healthier communities.
“We are zealous defenders of public safety. And we understand that public safety means safety for everyone, regardless of the color of their skin, their family’s income, or their country of origin.”