Criminal Justice

Criminal justice reform bill would stop jail revolving door

  Mississippi lawmakers have impressed conservative policy leaders around the country with their commitment to smart justice policies. Smart justice means protecting public safety by using taxpayer dollars wisely to get the best outcomes from our criminal justice system. Mississippi has been leading the way since 2014 when Governor Phil Bryant championed the most comprehensive criminal...

February 26, 2018

Criminal Justice

More criminal justice reform for Texas in 2018

  As Texans seek to implement their New Year’s resolutions, a safer, more just society should be at the top of the list. Fortunately, state lawmakers took many steps in this direction in 2017, but there is much more work to be done to ensure Texas remains a national leader in advancing criminal justice policies...

January 16, 2018

Criminal Justice

How Governors Across America Are Getting Smart on Crime

  Governors are known for cutting ribbons to celebrate new employers coming to their state, but it is rare for a governor to remove the scarlet letter from someone convicted of a crime. Speaking on the American principle of second chances at the Governors’ Justice Series, Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin and Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds...

December 1, 2017

Criminal Justice

Crime, punishment and taxes

  Local corrections costs have quadrupled over the past 40 years. And paying for jails’ rising financial burden has inflicted a severe punishment against one group in particular — local taxpayers. Operating jails has contributed to the doubling of local tax burdens since 1977. This trend is not surprising given that the nation’s average daily local jail population quadrupled to 630,000 since 1970. Unfortunately, the incomes of most...

October 24, 2017

Criminal Justice

Texas should close prisons, but strengthen alternatives

Texas has saved billions and become safer by thinking outside the cell. Now, state leaders must act to write the next chapter in this criminal justice success story.  

May 8, 2017

Criminal Justice

Time for Virginia to Get Serious About Repealing Failed Automatic Suspension Law

Courts should have the authority to punish intentional defiance of their orders. They should also have the authority to adjust costs and fines based on income. Instead, court and law enforcement resources are wasted prosecuting and incarcerating people for driving on a suspended license, and hundreds of thousands of other Virginians are needlessly pushed out of the labor market because they can’t drive to work.

April 10, 2017

Criminal Justice

My Turn: Alaska’s criminal justice reform efforts should be celebrated

Conservative state leaders across the country have shown repeatedly that smart, forward-thinking criminal justice changes can avoid huge bills for taxpayers. Further, these reforms do not mean that crime rates will rise.

February 4, 2017

Criminal Justice

How Texas Reduced Both Crime & Incarceration

Texas is proof positive that by filling the spectrum in between these two extremes with effective monitoring and treatment programs, we can both enhance taxpayer responsibility and increase the safety of our communities.

September 8, 2016

Criminal Justice

Easing the toll of the justice system

The proliferation of financial obligations imposed by the criminal justice system poses several problems.

August 10, 2016

Criminal Justice

Cornyn and Levin: How Texas became smart on crime

Senator John Coryn and Center for Effective Justice and Right on Crime Director Marc Levin explain how Texas is a model for the nation in criminal justice reform.

June 22, 2016

Criminal Justice

Fingerprinting rule penalizes pocketbook for small mistakes

Some 68 million Americans — roughly one in five — have some sort of a criminal record and as a result are often excluded from certain areas of the workforce.

March 2, 2016

Criminal Justice

Criminal-justice reform is a conservative cause

There is broad consensus that we have passed a point of diminishing returns with respect to incarceration. The more they are used, the less effective prison cells become.

October 16, 2015