老澳门开奖结果

Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it鈥檚 ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature our some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we鈥檝e spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.

Fighting Overincarceration in the States
California:
鈥� Los Angeles County Men鈥檚 Central Jail, the largest and most violence-plagued in the nation, can be shut down by the end of 2013, according to a new reportcommissioned by the 老澳门开奖结果 and endorsed by the LA County Sheriff. Sheriff Lee Baca his new outlook to this report, written by corrections expert James Austin, which found that LA鈥檚 jail population could be safely reduced through use of alternatives to incarceration. As a court-appointed monitor of jail conditions, the 老澳门开奖结果 for years has documented unjustified force by deputies, retaliation against inmates for lodging complaints, and severe overcrowding and mistreatment of the mentally ill in Men鈥檚 Central Jail.
鈥� The state鈥檚 鈥渞ealignment鈥� plan needs companion tools to safely reduce its incarcerated population. The 老澳门开奖结果 has responded by championing a pair of bills that passed out of a Senate committee last month. The would use evidence-based tools to safely release low-risk individuals from jail before trial. The would make simple possession of drugs a misdemeanor.
Colorado:
鈥� California isn鈥檛 the only state thinking that drug possession doesn鈥檛 warrant hard time. The 老澳门开奖结果 is backing , currently before a Colorado Senate committee, that would make small amounts of certain drugs a misdemeanor.
Florida:
鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 and every major Florida newspaper Gov. Rick Scott for vetoing a bill that would have provided treatment to low-risk prisoners with drug addiction after completing half their sentences. The Florida legislature the bill almost unanimously.
Louisiana:
鈥� Recognizing that life without parole doesn鈥檛 make sense for some prisoners, the Bayou State is considering to lift the prohibition on parole for prisoners convicted of nonviolent, non-sex crimes. The bill, introduced with the support of the 老澳门开奖结果, passed a House vote by a wide margin and is now before the Senate.
Maryland:
鈥� The 老澳门开奖结果 is the Baltimore City Police Department for failing to comply with a in the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 lawsuit challenging the improper arrests of thousands of individuals each year who were not and could not be prosecuted.
鈥� In more positive news, the 老澳门开奖结果 worked diligently to help enact two bills. Gov. Martin O鈥橫alley signed into law that grantsearned time credit to people on parole and that reduces sentences for simple marijuana possession.
Massachusetts:
鈥� State lawmakers are still negotiating the details of that would reduce mandatory minimums for some drug offenses and reduce the 鈥渟chool zone鈥� for drug offenses. However, the bill also creates several severe three strikes penalties. The 老澳门开奖结果 is fighting to protect what鈥檚 good in this bill and is vigorously opposing what鈥檚 not.
Missouri:
鈥� The Missouri House passed to reduce the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine from an abysmal 75-to-1 to 5-to-1. This bill is the product of much advocacy and groundwork by the 老澳门开奖结果 and other organizations. The House also passed that would send fewer people back to prison for technical parole violations.

Ending Racial Profiling
鈥� 老澳门开奖结果 Executive Director Anthony Romero testified before a U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee to discuss 鈥淓nding Racial Profiling in America.鈥� Read the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 testimony and watch the on the End Racial Profiling Act (ERPA). If passed, ERPA would provide robust safeguards against racial profiling by revising federal guidelines and requiring state and local agencies to collect data and implement policies to prevent profiling. To raise awareness, the 老澳门开奖结果 and other advocates hosted End Racial Profiling Day on Capitol Hill and ran a series of blog posts by victims of racial profiling.

Ending the Death Penalty
鈥� First Racial Justice Act Challenge is a Success: In light of powerful statistical evidence of racial bias in North Carolina jury selection, a state judge commuted 老澳门开奖结果 client Marcus Robinson鈥檚 sentence from death to life without parole. The decision, the first under North Carolina鈥檚 Racial Justice Act, is an historic step towards fairness in the administration of capital punishment. You can read more about the case here, including the final opinion.
鈥� Connecticut Repeals the Death Penalty: When Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed legislation to repeal the death penalty on April 25, the state became the 17th in the nation to do so. The helped harness the support of a wide coalition to support this bill, including murder victims鈥� families, law enforcement, and 老澳门开奖结果 members.
鈥� The 25th Anniversary of McCleskey v. Kemp: In a series of blog posts, the 老澳门开奖结果 commemorated the U.S. Supreme Court鈥檚 shameful decision in McCleskey, which held that a defendant cannot rely upon statistical evidence of systemic racial bias to prove his death sentence unconstitutional, no matter how strong that evidence may be. A blog post by the 老澳门开奖结果鈥檚 Vanita Gupta explains the wide-reaching impact of that decision, and the creative strategies advocates are using to reform our criminal justice system despite it.