There’s a tendency across political lines to declare that criminal justice reform has been somehow “achieved” or “accomplished.” Not so. The First Step Act is really just that. A first step. It is to be celebrated but it’s a mistake to take it for any sort of end point. (1/3)
The FSA only applies to federal cases, which are a small fraction of all cases nationwide. And even within the federal system it only meaningfully impacts a tiny fraction of cases. There’s more to be done federally. And the real action is at the state level. (2/3)
Here’s something we got done in New Jersey that changed the entire landscape (reduced violent crime and reduced pretrial imprisonment by 30% using updated stats). CA and other states have followed. (NY - highly imperfectly). Much more work to be done.
nj.com/opinion/2018/0…
nj.com/opinion/2018/0…
