吃瓜大本营

Today, the U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world. With over 2.3 million men and women living behind bars, our imprisonment rate is the highest it鈥檚 ever been in U.S. history. And yet, our criminal justice system has failed on every count: public safety, fairness and cost-effectiveness. Across the country, the criminal justice reform conversation is heating up. Each week, we feature our some of the most exciting and relevant news in overincarceration discourse that we鈥檝e spotted from the previous week. Check back weekly for our top picks.

Reducing Prison Populations in the States

As many state legislative sessions wind down, we鈥檝e written up a Legislative Wrap-Up to summarize 2012 developments. Some recent highlights (and lowlights) include:

鈥� Georgia: Gov. Nathan Deal signed a that, among other things, reduces sentences for low-level drug offenses and theft; invests in drug treatment and mental illness courts; and establishes graduated sanctions, such as community service, for probation violations.
鈥� Louisiana: Gov. Bobby Jindal has pledged to sign an ACLU-sponsored bill that will allow prisoners sentenced to life in prison for nonviolent crimes to appear before a parole board. He also signed that allows low-risk repeat offenders to appear before a parole board after serving one-third of their sentences. Louisiana's notoriously problematic mass incarceration system also made the news in andan eight-part series in the .
鈥� Maryland: Today, Tuesday June 5th, the ACLU and the Maryland Committee of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on racial disparities in the criminal justice system and discuss next steps to reduce the prison population.
鈥� Missouri: Gov. Jay Nixon signed two important bills to reduce the state鈥檚 prison population. will use non-incarceration alternatives for violations of probation and parole conditions, such as a missed meeting or failed drug test. The second new law reduces the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses to 18-to-1.

鈥� California:

鈥� to make simple possession of drugs a misdemeanor passed out of committee and will receive a floor vote. The bill has received the support of groups across the political spectrum, including .

鈥� Another bill co-sponsored by the ACLU, which would use evidence-based risk assessment tools to safely release low-risk individuals detained before trial, has also moved from committee to the Senate floor.

鈥� Illinois: The Senate passed a that would reinstate 鈥済ood time credits,鈥� which would allow prisoners to reduce their sentences by exhibiting good behavior and participating in rehabilitative programs.

鈥� Kansas: The House passed a that would allow judges to use less expensive treatment programs for small-time drug offenses.

鈥� Pennsylvania: Gov. Tom Corbett announced that he wants to pass significant criminal justice reform .

鈥� Colorado: Disappointingly, that would have downgraded sentencing for drug offenses was to merely commission a study of the state鈥檚 drug laws.

鈥� Oklahoma: In less encouraging news, Gov. Mary Fallin signed that may, in the end, increase the state鈥檚 prison population. It allows prosecutors to veto judicial decisions to shorten defendants鈥� sentences and creates a secondary system of incarceration for individuals who violate probation and parole violations. Advocates, including the ACLU, have the measure for not doing enough to reduce Oklahoma鈥檚 prison population and maybe even making the problem worse.

New York City Stop-and-Frisk

In 2011, the NYPD stopped-and-frisked 700,000 people, nearly all of whom were , often without . Read the NYCLU鈥檚 recently published on NYPD stop-and-frisk practices and a .

鈥� The NYPD鈥檚 stop-and-frisk practices have been the subject of much media debate. The NYCLU placed an in the Daily News rebutting NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly鈥檚 of the practice and issued a demanding reform, not words, from Commissioner Kelly.

鈥� A recent ended the stop-and-frisk of livery cab passengers.

Capitol Hill Talks about Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform

In May, the ACLU hosted a panel discussion featuring Republican and Democratic state legislators who discussed their respective states鈥� successful bipartisan criminal justice reform efforts that both saved money and promoted public safety. Congress can learn from these state examples and pass the , which would create a bipartisan commission to examine the nation鈥檚 criminal justice system and make reform recommendations in sentencing policy, law enforcement, crime prevention, and re-entry. Take Action! Tell the Senate to adopt meaningful criminal justice reform now.

Learn more about overincarceration: Sign up for breaking news alerts, , and .