Night 2 of our Racial Equity week!
Tonight’s topic - Prison Reform
To start, here is some reading material from the incredible people at @aclu_mo #CriminalJusticeReform
aclu-mo.org/en/issues/crim…
I will be referencing this page, also from our local @aclu_mo, regarding the current state of Missouri’s prison population.
All perspectives and opinions are welcomed.
aclu-mo.org/en/news/truth-…
The following charts are from the following source - prisonpolicy.org/profiles/MO.ht…
These charts show two things here in @MoGov
1. Missouri’s incarceration rate is higher than the national average
2. Missouri’s black community is largely over represented in our prisons.
These issues must be addressed and it needs to happen yesterday.
As of April 24th, 2019: Source- @aclu_mo
“The criminal justice system should be designed to keep people out of jail. Missouri’s is designed to keep people in it.”
We ALL must come together to immediately change the culture, protocols, and functionality of MO’s prison system.
“Missouri...has the eighth-highest incarceration rate in the nation, the fastest growing female prison population in the nation, and spends $725,165,192 each year on corrections.”
Way too many Missourians in prison and we are spending way too much keeping them in prison.
“We have an artificially inflated prison population, with high violent crime rates, and the people who make up the prison population are 50 percent non-violent,” Barrett said. “Something’s not right there.”
This culture must change to a people-first culture.
“Every year, the MO Attorney General compiles a report of vehicle stops by law enforcement. In 2017, the rate of African Americans pulled over and searched was 85 percent higher than whites, up from 64 percent in 2012.”
This is why #BlackLivesMatter and why change is needed.
“More people are in prison for more years than at any point in U.S. history.”
“A smarter kind of justice means reducing both the number of people entering prisons and the extreme laws and policies that drive extraordinarily long prison terms.”
Laws & Policies = Police Reform
“...look at the jail population report of any county in the state, it will be full, but it won’t be full of people who have been convicted of crimes. It will be filled with people who have never been convicted of anything, but are waiting for their case to get resolved in court.”
“In 2015, roughly 700,000 people were locked up in local jails and a majority of them had not been convicted of a crime. The reason is because after an arrest—wrongful or not—a person’s ability to leave jail and fight the charges from home depends on money.”
Change is needed.
“Each year, 650,000 men and women nationwide return from prison to their communities.
These folks face nearly 50,000 federal, state and local legal restrictions that make it difficult to reintegrate back into society—beginning with their inability to find employment.”
“When someone is able to get a job, that is the #1 thing in reducing the likelihood that they are going to recidivate, but it’s the criminal conviction that keeps them from getting the job.”
“That’s why we need more resources for people to have their criminal record expunged.”
“Missouri’s criminal justice system is broken, doesn’t protect people and costs Missourians billions of dollars per year.”
“It’s time to reform our state’s criminal justice. It’s time for smart justice.” #smartjustice
If you want #smartjustice in Missouri, please share this thread, speak up, and join us here on #Team16. It’s time for prison reform in Missouri.
jamesformissouri.com/get-involved
Oh yeah! And donate to the @aclu_mo so they can continue to do all the amazing things they do for Missouri.
Link 👉🏼 action.aclu.org/give/support-a…
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