Dear John, 

This Thanksgiving, we’re thankful for your endless support as we push for progress on the issues that matter most to young people. While we’ve come so far, it’s impossible to ignore the fact that millions of people still won’t get to spend the holidays with their families this week. Over the past 50 years, tough-on-crime legislation and bad policy choices have broken our communities and filled our prisons. Though the U.S. represents only 5% of the world’s total population, we represent nearly 25% of the world’s incarcerated population (1). 

Our criminal legal system has grown beyond any reasonable boundaries, and it’s hurting our country. The impact of this system falls especially hard on young people and people of color.

These young people, often from overpoliced Black and Latino communities, are stripped of their family, friends, and mentors. If or when they are released from prison, they face harsh parole terms, lost opportunities, and the stigma of a criminal record.

Bad policy created our mass incarceration problem. Good policy can fix it.

A few ways that we can shrink the criminal justice system are by:

• ending mandatory minimums,
• shortening terms of probation and parole to 1-2 years,
• decriminalizing or reclassifying certain crimes from felonies to misdemeanors,
• ending cash bail (Lil Nas X gets it),
• and ending life without parole sentences.

Together, we can protect freedom in our communities. Learn more about shrinking the criminal legal system with our series of fact sheets.

Best, 

Charlotte Hancock
Senior Director
Generation Progress

Citations:

(1) https://www.marketingcharts.com/charts/us-population-distribution-by-age-and-gender-in-2018/attachment/censusbureau-us-population-distribution-by-age-group-and-gender-sept2019