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Precinct Reporter Group News Town Hall Tackles Prison Reform
By Timothy Lewis
People of all backgrounds have captured the narrative of police brutality on video, but what is often overlooked is the mistreatment of incarcerated individuals in the criminal justice system.
The Riverside chapter of the NAACP held a prison reform town hall recently in partnership with Riverside Justice Table and other activist organizations. The public and recently incarcerated people were invited to speak openly about their experiences in prison and what they believe needs to be done within the criminal justice system regarding prison reform.
The speakers were men and women from all walks of life. Their collective stories illustrated a picture of a complex and exploitative system that has affected countless numbers of incarcerated and detained individuals.
OPINION America likes to put its citizens behind bars. Indeed, “Lock her (or him) up!” is second only to chants of “We’re number one!” in America. Turns out, America leads the world - by a wide margin - in matters of incarceration. As you read this, just under 2.4 million people are locked up across America.in 1,833 state prisons, 110 federal prisons, 1,772 juvenile correctional facilities, 3,134 local jails, 218 immigration detention facilities and 80 Indian Country jails.and a smattering of military prisons, state psychiatric hospitals and territorial prisons. Putting folks behind bars is as American as apple pie and baseball. Incarceration is a woven fabric in the crazy-quilt culture that believes in both forgiveness and retribution. Puritanical Americans have never been reticent to punish their fellow citizens.and not just for violent crimes.
R Street’s First 100 Days Blueprint for Criminal Justice Reform in the 46th Presidential Administration
Human dignity, public safety, individual liberty, fiscal responsibility and strong families: We at R Street believe these principles are vital to American democracy and are all-the-more critical when deciding upon the policies and practices inherent to our criminal justice systems. After all, the criminal justice system is the only arm of local, state and federal governments given the power to take away years of an individual’s life and constrain them to a cell, away from society and often with little hope for a better future. It is also the arm of government charged with responding to crime in a way that brings justice and prevents future harm.