Description
part 1) 1- Progressive Prosecutors
The United States is one of the only countries that elects Prosecutors and many Judges (some judges are appointed by the mayor in NYC). Critics of elections for these posts argue that elections and politics are inappropriate for a justice system that is supposed to be blind and impartial, and that the political forces led many prosecutors to run on a “tough on crime” campaign that fueled mass incarceration.
Others argue that elections for prosecutors are an important way to address mass incarceration and we have recently seen a wave of progressive prosecutors elected such as Larry Krasner in Philadephia, Kim Foxx in Chicago, and the near win of Tiffany Caban in the Queens County District Attorney race of 2019.
Larry Krasner in Philadephia has made controversy by refusing to prosecute low level drug offenders or sex workers and has repeatedly had issues with Philadephia’s police union https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/10/29/larry-krasners-campaign-to-end-mass-incarceration
A recent NYT article talks about the challenges these “Progressive Prosecutors” face once they are in office.
What do you think about the future of progressive prosecutors being elected. Will they ever be able to replace the politics of “tough on crime” and mass incarceration, or are they one scandal away from losing to a “tough on crime” candidate?
2-The Politics of Bail Reform
COLLAPSE
Read and discuss the following two articles. What issues did the 2019 New York State Criminal Justice Reform seek to address and which issues did it create? How does the political process influence the criminal justice system, and what is the appropriate balance between the two spheres?
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/facts-bail-reform-and-crime-rates-new-york-state
Adams Won’t Let Up on Bail Reform, Putting Pressure on Hochul – The New York Times (nytimes.com)
New York’s Bail Laws Are Changing Again. Here’s How. – The New York Times (nytimes.co
3- Michelle Alexander in her book “The New Jim Crow” and the Netflix Documentary “The 13th”, argue that law enforcement is fundamentally based on structural racism. John Pfaff, while acknowledging the centrality of systemic racism the criminal justice system, critiques Alexander for not looking at the real factors that are driving prison growth or “mass incarceration.” His critique argues, among other things, that Alexander’s areas of focus may explain the growth in the federal prison population, which is smaller than the state, but cannot account for the explosive growth in state prison populations (approximately 90% of prisoners in the United States.)Below please answer and comment on the following sections.Michelle Alexander- do you agree that structural racism is at the core of our criminal justice system? If so, how can we address this? More importantly, what three factors does Alexander and the Netflix Documentary focus on for increasing mass incarceration?John Pfaff critiques Alexander and others for arguing about the “Standards Story”, which he thinks will distract us from the true causes of mass incarceration. Here is an interview with Pfaff on the subject https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYo67Q9KzmcWhat does Pfaff argue is the Standard Story?What factors does Pfaff believe are driving the increase in mass incarceration and prisoners?How does he believe we can reform this, and what are the costs of focusing on the “standard story” and ignoring his arguments?Do you believe Pfaff is “deaftone” when it comes to structural racism?
part 2) 1- The First Step Act
In 2018, Congress passed the “First Step Act” which was a major change to Federal Sentencing policy meant to reduce disparities in federal sentencing, particularly for drug crimes. President Trump touted this reform extensively in his outreach to the African American community during the recent campaign as evidence of his criminal justice policy. Read the following article about the FIrst Step Act from Brennan and the Vera Project and answer the following question:
What was the First Step Act and what problems did it seek to change?
How was the First Step Act going to address these problems?
How successful has it been in its first two years? What challenges remain?
https://www.vera.org/state-of-justice-reform/2019/first-step
https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/what-first-step-act-and-whats-happening-it
2-How Many Americans are Unnecessarily Incarcerated?
Read the summary of the Brennan Center Report “How many Americans are Unnecessarily Incarcerated” here https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/how-many-americans-are-unnecessarily-incarcerated#Preface%20by%20Inimai%20ChettiarWhat are the main findings of the report, what does it recommend? Do you agree with the report’s conclusion?
