Tuesday afternoon, a jury of his peers found former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin guilty of the murder of George Floyd. The verdict, while welcome, is a reminder that police accountability should be the norm and not the exception that proves the rule of police impunity. And any attempt at reforming our criminal justice system must not only account for abuses of power, but it must also squarely face the disparate impact it has on people of color. The fight for justice and racial equality continues.

America can’t shrink its reliance on mass incarceration until we confront our approach to punishment. In a new essay series featuring a new piece every week, renowned experts in a variety of fields focus on our society’s impulse to disproportionately punish people, from policing to prosecution to incarceration to life after prison. The essays illustrate how necessary it is to rein in punitive excess, which often hits communities of color hardest, and they explore potential solutions.

Diverse state supreme court benches are critical to promoting a justice system that is fair and seen as fair by the public. But state supreme courts across the country continue to fall short when it comes to diversity. In 22 states, no justices publicly identify as a person of color, including in 11 states where people of color make up at least 20 percent of the population. And in 12 states, there is only one woman on the supreme court bench.

New York lawmakers have taken immense steps toward building a fairer criminal justice system, such as marijuana legalization. But little has been done to help people put their lives back together after a conviction or time in prison. Lawmakers can help expand opportunity and bring the legislature’s work on criminal justice reform full circle with parole reform and automatically expunging criminal records.

When Gov. Brian Kemp signed Georgia’s new restrictive voting provisions into law, he claimed the controversial changes — including making it harder to request mail ballots and use drop boxes — are necessary to improve election security. But much of the “election integrity” legislation in Georgia and around the country would actually weaken our election systems and reduce their capacity to recover from a technological problem, whether a malfunction or an attack.

The Chauvin verdict offers some justice in the murder of George Floyd. Chauvin is a murderer and deserves the full punishment of the law. Our system has held him accountable. Read more on Instagram >>

Immigration Reform: Presidential Power and the Road Ahead
Wednesday, May 5 | 12:00 p.m.–1:00 p.m. ET
The immigration policies of the last four years have elicited tremendous political controversy, and in their recent book, The President and Immigration Law, Professors Adam B. Cox of NYU School of Law and Cristina M. Rodríguez of Yale Law School show how we got here. Cox and Rodríguez will join Cecilia Muñoz, former director of the White House Domestic Policy Council under President Obama, for a conversation on the road ahead for immigration policy and reform. RSVP today.

This event is produced in partnership with New York University’s John Brademas Center.

New American Dream: Five Weeks of Virtual Town Halls On Disrupting Systemic Racism and Envisioning the Nation Beyond It
Wednesdays, April 28–May 26 | 5:00 p.m. ET
This series of virtual forums will gather thought leaders from across the country to discuss the impact of white supremacy and state-backed racism on America today. Examining systemic racism in relation to voting rights, artificial intelligence and genetic data, journalism, antiracism, and cultural narrative, the events will focus on strategies and solidarity, with an understanding of history and eyes toward the future. Learn more.

Madiba Dennie, counsel in the Brennan Center’s Democracy Program, recommends, “In Derek Chauvin’s Trial, Will We Finally Get Justice?” The article breaks down Chauvin’s defense team’s strategy: that the fault for George Floyd’s death lies anywhere but with his killers.