Right on Crime Director Derek Cohen walked through the history of Texas’ criminal justice overhaul with Judy Maggio of KLRU. The Lone Star State has been called the birthplace of criminal justice reform, but it wasn’t too long ago that it was known for its “lock em’ up” approach. In 2015, Texas “got to the point...
In a recent op-ed published in Wall Street Journal Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) recognized the need for federal prison reform but cautioned against sentencing provisions that have been discussed in recent weeks as possible additions to the House-passed FIRST STEP Act. While we do not know what these sentencing provisions will end up including in the final legislation,...
On Tuesday, the vast majority of U.S. House members put families and communities ahead of political gain and passed the FIRST STEP Act. This criminal justice reform bill, if passed by the Senate, will change lives by offering inmates a second chance, and provide the kind of transformative programs that will help keep them out of...
The phrase "extortion racket" does not usually bring forth the image of a person in a white coat with a stethoscope. But here in the Lone Star State, health-care extortion is legal and hurts Texans both economically and medically.
Third, and perhaps most ironically, barring criminal background checks tends to exacerbate disparities in hiring practices, not correct them.
Since one in three adults has a criminal record, nearly every American has a family member, loved one or neighbor who has, or who will, come in contact with the criminal justice system.
According to Federal Sentencing Commission data, only about 10 percent of federal inmates were in any position of prominent leadership.
In this edition of Veritas, you'll find Holding Liberty Hostage, The Ceremony: Celebrating Texas Freedom Since 1845, Lone Star Legacy Society, and more.
This allows law enforcement to wholly sidestep any legal protections guaranteed by the state.
It may come as a surprise to some, but Texas is widely viewed as one of the nation’s leaders in criminal justice reform. The reinvestment strategies pioneered in the Lone Star State have been held up by national organizations as model reforms, so it’s no surprise that Texans are enjoying the lowest statewide crime rates since 1968. Never content to rest on its laurels, the Texas Legislature has already shown great interest in furthering these successes in the current session. After several high-profile abuses both nationally and within the state in recent years, the Legislature has signaled interest is protecting citizens from rampant excesses related to civil asset forfeiture.
This commentary originally appeared in The Federalist on January 6, 2015. Few individuals outside of the music editorial realm consider Rolling Stone a reliable source of journalistic content. In recent years the publication’s rank amateurism has been made patently evident in its coverage of the nation’s criminal justice system. Whether a quixotic exercise in the apologetics of a butcher or whole-cloth fabricationof...
Perhaps the largest hurdle facing Lynch in her upcoming Senate confirmation hearings is her affinity for seizing real and financial assets to be put to use in her office... The Wall Street Journal reported that Lynch's office made $904 million dollars in criminal and civil asset seizures in fiscal year 2013.