John,
Four years ago today, the horrifying murder of George Floyd, committed and enabled by Minneapolis police officers, ignited a public outcry about police brutality. Today, there is growing awareness of the racial injustice that pervades every level of our society, including the criminal legal system.
I want you to know that The Sentencing Project remains unwavering in our commitment to fighting for racial justice. In response to the murder of George Floyd, we established a Racial Justice Fund to support our community advocacy partners who emphasize leadership and collaboration with people most impacted by the criminal legal system, including those currently in prison. Since 2021, we have funded over 30 grants to grassroots organizations across 20 jurisdictions.
While we know we still have a long way to go, the good news is that we have made significant progress toward building public awareness and creating a more just system on multiple fronts.
Lifetime Imprisonment Risk of Young Black Men Has Fallen 40%
The Sentencing Project recently released a four-part series examining both the narrowing and persistence of racial injustice in the criminal legal system, as well as highlighting promising reforms. The first report revealed that one in five Black men born in 2001 is likely to experience imprisonment within their lifetime, a decline from one in three for those born in 1981.
Although current levels of imprisonment still remain unacceptably high, our "One in Five" series highlights reforms in several jurisdictions that offer blueprints for achieving decarceration and equity.
Expanding Voting Rights for All
One in 19 Black Americans of voting age is disenfranchised, a rate over three times that of non-Black Americans. However, over the last year, we’ve seen significant progress in expanding voting rights to people who have been involved with the criminal legal system.
This year we joined coalition partners in Nebraska in advancing a bill passed by state lawmakers that ends the two-year waiting period for more than 7,000 Nebraskans who could not vote directly after the completion of their sentence. In Colorado, a bill we championed passed the legislature to require in-person voting in every jail in the state. We’ve fought for similar bills expanding voting rights that were signed into law in Michigan, New Mexico, and Minnesota.
Diverting Youth Out of the Justice System
Research shows that addressing adolescent misbehavior outside of the formal justice system yields better outcomes, yet unequal access to those programs is a major source of racial disparities in youth justice. That’s why this year we launched a new resource page documenting the many benefits of diverting young people away from the justice system, along with policy briefs that provide practical tools for policymakers, legislators, and advocates to implement successful diversion programs.
We are encouraged to find that nearly half of states have taken noteworthy steps in recent years to expand or improve diversion as an alternative to arrest or prosecution, and we will continue to fight to center diversion as a key tool to combat racial and ethnic disparities in the youth justice system.
The Work Continues
Thank you, as always, for your support in pushing this movement forward. We know the increase in harmful political rhetoric and misinformation about mass incarceration have the potential to slow or even erase our progress. I hope you’ll continue to support us and learn how you can get involved in the fight for racial justice.
