Sisters, Brothers, and Friends -
The United States has a broken criminal justice system.
We have over 2 million people in jail and prison, more than any other nation on earth, and they are disproportionately African-American, Latino, and Native American. We spend $80 billion a year keeping people behind bars, money which could be used for education, job creation and affordable housing.
To make matters worse, the corporations that comprise the prison-industrial complex make astounding amounts of money for themselves from this broken system. We have criminalized poverty, we have criminalized entire communities, and we have allowed corporations to become wealthy from doing so. That is not what justice is supposed to be about.
Today we are releasing a criminal justice plan that will reform every aspect of America’s racist, dysfunctional criminal justice system. That includes ending mass incarceration, changing the way we police our communities, providing resources for victims of crime, ending cycles of violence, and more.
What I want to know is if we have your support for these ideas.
Our plan is based on the idea that we need a top-to-bottom reform of America’s law enforcement, judicial and incarceration systems. That includes:
Ending for-profit greed in our criminal justice system
We must end cash bail, because no one should be in jail for the "crime" of being poor. Prison phone and video calls should be free of charge, because no one should profit from loved ones contacting people who are incarcerated. We must also expand funding for public defenders to eliminate the idea of "the best justice money can buy." And we must ban for-profit prisons.
Ending mass incarceration and excessive sentencing
We will set a goal to reduce the incarcerated population by half, and we will abolish the death penalty, three strikes laws, and mandatory minimums. We will end the war on drugs. And we will ensure a just transition for incarcerated individuals upon their release.
Ending the cycle of violence and supporting victims of crime
Victims of crime need continued access to mental health care, trauma recovery services, relocation services, and assistance with basic needs, as part of a plan to end the cycle of violence in communities. We must also eliminate the rape kit backlog and reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act.
Transforming the way we police communities
We must end the reliance on police forces to handle mental health emergencies, homelessness, maintenance violations, and other low-level situations. We will create an unarmed corp of first responders with the proper training to handle these cases, leaving police to handle serious crimes. This also means creating national standards for use of police force that emphasize de-escalation rather than violence.
Reverse the criminalization of disability
We will reverse the criminalization of disability by creating an Office of Disability in the Department of Justice, expanding voluntary, community-based mental health services, decriminalizing and ending homelessness, investing in diversion programs and alternatives to detention for people with disabilities, and ensuring accountability for police interactions and misconduct involving people with disabilities.
It is clear that today in the United States of America, we have a criminal justice system that is stacked against the poor and people of color, and that it needs to be reformed from top to bottom.
Thank you.
In solidarity,
Bernie Sanders
Paid for by Bernie 2020
PO BOX 391, Burlington, VT 05402
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