Criminal Justice

Pay Attention To The Highland Park Warning Signs And Communications Failures And Learn From Them

Illinois has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, yet policymakers are scrambling to explain the series of missed warning signs and communication failures that led to the Fourth of July mass shooting in Highland Park. Much like 9/11, when law enforcement agencies had information prior to that tragedy but failed to cohesively communicate, mass...

July 19, 2022

Criminal Justice

AG Merrick Garland must resign or enforce the law

Former federal prosecutor Brett Tolman said Friday on “Fox & Friends First” Attorney General Merrick Garland should resign if the Justice Department is not going to enforce laws to protect Supreme Court justices. “It is playing with fire,” he said. “And the attorney general right now should either resign or enforce the law impartially. And that includes enforcing...

June 17, 2022

Criminal Justice

The Virginia Parole Board is too important for political plays

Virginia Democrats made a critical error this month by playing partisan games and voting down four qualified candidates nominated to the Virginia Parole Board. In so doing, the Democrats have all but killed the critically needed overhaul of the parole system in Virginia. The momentum for bipartisan support of public scrutiny and more transparency ended suddenly as...

March 28, 2022

Criminal Justice

Gov. Kevin Stitt showing real conservative values on his criminal justice reform initiatives

Conservative leaders have a duty to govern with a bold commitment to the principles that best serve our citizens and communities. In 2018, the voters of Oklahoma put their confidence in Kevin Stitt who received more votes than any gubernatorial candidate in Oklahoma history. In just three short years, Stitt has proven that evidence-based policy...

February 4, 2022

Criminal Justice

A Call to Reform Federal Solitary Confinement

The idea of being alone evokes a special kind of dread for many people. Reams have been written on how to avoid this fate, and those who can’t tend to earn our sympathy. Unless, that is, they’re cut off from meaningful human contact because they’re one of the thousands of federal inmates held in solitary...

February 3, 2022

Criminal Justice

Michigan School Shooting Spurs Legal Questions of Parental Responsibility

As the nation still processes the shock and horror of the tragedy at Oxford High School, the local Michigan prosecutor has wasted little time in bringing up the matter of accountability. Four young lives have been lost, and someone must be held responsible. But who? There is no real debate the alleged shooter must pay...

December 9, 2021

Criminal Justice

The Rittenhouse case is a cautionary tale for conservative legislatures

Thousands of cases a day go through our nation’s court systems, but most do not grab the headlines or scrutiny of the Kyle Rittenhouse trial. The power and prejudice this prosecution is wielding should worry anyone who advocates for the fair administration of the rule of law. As experienced prosecutors who have handled high-profile criminal cases and made...

November 29, 2021

Criminal Justice

Utah’s federal delegation has the chance to fix cocaine sentencing

Cocaine probably isn’t what you would think of as a unifying policy topic but, in 2021, it’s bringing both sides of the aisle together at the federal level. Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are faced with a decision to either support fair sentencing in federal crack and powder cocaine convictions, or continue to support an antiquated...

October 5, 2021

Public Safety

Texans deserve a bail system based on risk, not riches

Last month, off-duty New Orleans Detective Everett Briscoe and his friend. Dyrin “DJ” Riculfy, were shot and killed during an aggravated robbery in Houston. The tragedy surrounding their slayings was only aggravated by the news that their suspected killers had been walking free on a combined six felony bonds, including cash-free bonds, a $40,000 bond for...

September 13, 2021

Public Safety

No, criminal justice reform isn’t causing the current crime wave

Conservative criminal justice reformers have faced occasional skepticism over our tried-and-true criminal justice solutions, but never something quite so outlandish as a recent suggestion, by an avowed conservative, no less, that conservative reformers somehow bear blame for rising violent crime in liberal bastions such as New York City and Portland. Sean Kennedy, in his recent Washington Examiner article ,...

August 31, 2021

Criminal Justice

Tennessee Leaders Define Conservative Criminal Justice Reform

Where use of incarceration is concerned, thoughtful criminal justice advocates tend to draw a distinction between those to be “scared of” versus others “we are mad at.” This makes sense. Conservative leaders in Tennessee, led by Gov. Bill Lee, are enacting policies that recognize this distinction in order to improve the overall effectiveness of the state’s criminal justice system.  The 2021 Tennessee...

May 13, 2021

Criminal Justice

A Much Needed Update for Kentucky’s Felony Theft

Property theft is a serious offense that should be treated as such. However, Kentucky’s threshold by which theft escalates from misdemeanor to felony has not been amended in over a decade and is outdated due to inflation. Meanwhile, the state’s corrections facilities are stretched and overcrowded, with the seventh highest incarceration rate in the country—the...

March 17, 2021