FreedomWorks Joins Nation’s Largest Transpartisan Coalition for Criminal Justice Reform

An unlikely alliance of progressive and conservative groups has formed to pursue an aggressive effort to reform America’s criminal justice system. The Coalition for Public Safety will be the largest national effort working to pursue comprehensive criminal justice reforms that will reduce jail and prison populations and associated costs, and end the systemic problems of over-criminalization and over-incarceration.

The Coalition’s partners include the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Americans for Tax Reform, the Center for American Progress, the Faith & Freedom Coalition, FreedomWorks, the Leadership Conference Education Fund, and Right on Crime.

FreedomWorks President Matt Kibbe commented:

“FreedomWorks is honored to be a part of this unique transpartisan coalition. For decades, politicians have appeared to be ‘tough on crime’ by passing onerous laws that trap people in a horribly broken criminal justice system. We look forward to promoting meaningful and responsible criminal justice reforms that will bring families back together, restore our civil liberties, and reduce the number of nonviolent offenders in our prison system."

“Comprehensive criminal justice reform is not a uniquely Democrat or Republican idea. The ideas of equal treatment under the law, innocent until proven guilty, redemption for those who have made non-violent mistakes and want to earn a second chance, are all American values.”

“We have a fiscal and a moral obligation to fix our broken criminal justice system. This is the land of the free, yet the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world. We can do better.”

FreedomWorks will be participating in a series of educational events to inform the public on the need for criminal justice reform, and work with Coalition partners to connect activists on the left and right who haven’t historically worked together in the past.

FreedomWorks has also set up a resource for citizens to tell their stories of criminal justice abuse at www.FreedomWorks.org/JusticeForAll.

FreedomWorks aims to educate, build, and mobilize the largest network of activists advocating the principles of smaller government, lower taxes, free markets, personal liberty and the rule of law. For more information, please visit www.FreedomWorks.org or contact Jackie Bodnar at JBodnar@FreedomWorks.org.