Keep On Keeping On: Maintaining Momentum for Criminal Justice Reform During the Trump Era
18 Pages Posted: 27 Aug 2018
Date Written: April 1, 2018
Abstract
This paper suggests a way forward for criminal justice reform in the Trump era. To borrow a phrase from civil rights workers who put their bodies on the line to dismantle Jim Crow, criminal justice progressives seeking to dismantle mass incarceration need to “keep on keeping on.” They must remain aware of threats to their momentum, while maintaining steadfast commitment to their missions. A three-point strategy provides a useful, though by no means exhaustive, framework for progress: First, reward, replicate, and expand bipartisan reform efforts at the local level; second, maintain a reform agenda that addresses violent crime; and third, engage crime victims and formerly incarcerated people as co-architects of a new framework for justice.
Keywords: Criminal Justice Reform, Mass Incarceration
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