Last year, formerly incarcerated activists, lawmakers, and advocates worked to challenge mass incarceration. In Top Trends in State Criminal Justice Reform, 2019, Nicole D. Porter highlights key changes in criminal justice policy achieved in 2019. Highlights include: Sentencing: California repealed a one-year sentence enhancement for each prior prison or county jail felony term, impacting 10,000 people. Felony Disenfranchisement: Nevada and New Jersey expanded voting rights to people on felony probation or parole, impacting 77,000 and 83,000 people, respectively. Juvenile Justice: Michigan raised the age at which young defendants are automatically charged as adults from 17 to 18. Addressing Racial Disparity: Florida adopted a Senate rule for racial impact statements to assess potential disparities of key criminal justice bills prior to implementation. The full briefing paper, which includes details on the authorized legislation, can be found online here. Please be in touch with Nicole at [email protected] to learn more and to discuss how we can support your efforts in state policy reform. | |
