For far too long, politicians have passed bad laws in an effort to appear "tough on crime." But these laws have come with a heavy toll. The United States has the highest incarceration rate in the world and our prison system is struggling to keep up. These policies have also have torn families apart.
It's fiscally and morally imperative to advance meaningful and responsible justice reforms that will ease burdens on taxpayers and give nonviolent offenders the opportunity to become productive citizens.
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All across the country, at all levels of government, Americans are changing the way they think about the criminal justice system. Just this month, President Trump launched his first official campaign ad during the Super Bowl, and chose to focus his message on criminal justice reform. That he chose to run his first major ad, which reached over 100 million viewers, on criminal justice reform shows just how popular this issue has become.
The Democrats are on a roll. The past couple of weeks have been a political parade of one disaster after another, all to the benefit of President Trump’s reelection campaign.
Written following his return from 10 years in Siberian exile, Dostoevsky’s “Crime and Punishment” follows the story of Rodion Raskolnikov as he grapples with mental anguish after killing a pawnbroker. Dostoevksy struggles with many ethical dilemmas that plague criminal justice, including deep questions about the efficacy of imprisonment and the process of redemption. Centering around the dichotomy between formal and informal punishment, the questions that Dostoevsky contends with are issues that still bear enormous significance on how we choose to seek justice.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- FreedomWorks today announces the release of its issue brief entitled, “Red State Redemption,” which highlights the efforts of conservative “red” states in addressing criminal justice reform. Josh Withrow, FreedomWorks’ Senior Policy Analyst, commented:
In the early 2000's, many of the states which had enacted the harshest mandatory sentences and "tough on crime" laws were also facing budget crises and desperately overcrowded prisons. In response, lawmakers in state like Texas, Georgia, and South Carolina started to reexamine the entire purpose of their criminal justice systems, and even became leaders in the national push for criminal justice reform.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- FreedomWorks released today its issue brief entitled,“Reducing Occupational Licensure as an Obstacle for the Formerly Incarcerated.” Occupational licensure requirements are a major impediment to the formerly incarcerated who strive to reenter society and the economy as productive, law-abiding citizens. FreedomWorks’ Senior Policy Analyst Josh Withrow commented:
The number of jobs that require a government-approved license has exploded in just the past few decades. This increase in occupational licensure is problematic in its own right, as it reduces competition and access to jobs for those who cannot afford the time and/or money it takes to acquire a license to work.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In response to the Senate’s passage of the conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2020, which included an important criminal justice reform measure, the Fair Chance Act, Jason Pye, FreedomWorks’ vice president of legislative affairs, commented:
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- In response to the House's passage of the conference report for the National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2020, which includes an important criminal justice reform measure, the Fair Chance Act, Jason Pye, FreedomWorks Vice President of Legislative Affairs, commented:
The justice system is in dire need of reforms that will ease burdens on taxpayers and give nonviolent offenders the opportunity to become productive citizens.
