A Roadmap for Criminal Justice Reform Executive and Legislative Recommendations from the Justice Roundtable Working Groups January, 2017 The Justice Roundtable is a broad-based coalition of more than 100 advocacy, service, faith, and research organizations working to reform criminal justice laws and policies. As a convener of experts and stakeholders from across the nation, we serve as a resource to the President and Executive Branch officials and to Members of Congress, providing background and policy recommendations to achieve a criminal justice system that is more effective, just, equitable, and humane for all. Since 2002, the Justice Roundtable has been a hub for information-sharing and coordination of federal advocacy efforts of the Washington criminal justice community. The Roundtable advances crucial justice reforms within the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. Because our network is broad, we benefit from diverse perspectives, unique expertise, and the strength of our respective constituencies. The Roundtable seeks to influence public policy at the federal level to accomplish the following justice and public safety goals: • reduce mass incarceration and over-reliance on harsh punishment; • eliminate racial disparities and promote fairness and equity; • provide effective alternatives to incarceration and new approaches to address crime and drug policy; • emphasize prevention over punishment; • reintegrate formerly incarcerated people into society; and • bring domestic justice policies into conformity with international human rights norms. Justice Roundtable members, partners, and allies span the political spectrum from left to right and everything in between. We reflect the voices of religious and other moral leaders in our society. We represent people whose daily work is within justice, education, and health and mental health systems. And we include the inspiration of people directly impacted by the criminal justice system and their families. For more information on the Justice Roundtable and its work and accomplishments, we encourage you to visit our website at www.justiceroundtable.org. The urgency for significant reform of our justice system continues to build. There is no better time to provide these practical recommendations to the new Administration, Congress, and policymakers around the country. Now is the time to achieve a justice system that truly lives up to its promise of public safety, health, and justice for all. Nkechi Taifa Convener, Justice Roundtable INT RODUCTION 3 I. LAW ENFORCEMENT 5 Overview 5 I. Body Worn Cameras 5 11. Civil Asset Forfeiture 6 111. Data Collection and Training 7 IV. Militarization of the Police 8 V. Racial Profiling and Biased Policing 10 VI. Training and Use of Force 11 VII. School Discipline and School Resource Officers 12 VII I. Forensic Science Reform 14 II. PUBLIC DEFENSE: ENSURING THE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT TO COUNSEL Overview 19 I. Lack of Funding, Staffing, and Training 20 11. Transparency, Oversight, and Accountability in Public Defense 23 111. Lack of Independence of the Defense Function 26 Ill. SENTENCING REFORM 31 Overview 31 I. Mandatory Minimums 32 11. Federal Drug Conspiracy Laws 33 111. Sentence Reduction for Compelling Reasons 34 (Compassionate Release) IV. Judicial Second Look 36 V. Clemency 38 VI. Impact of Parental Incarceration on Children 40 IV. PRISON CONDITIONS 44 Overview 44 I. Human Rights in Confinement 44 11. Oversight and Transparency 45 111. Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) 46 IV. Solitary Confinement 47 V. Repurposing Prisons 48 V. REENTRY 51 Overview 51 I. Conditions of Confinement: Family Engagement 51 11. Conditions of Confinement: Adult Correctional Education 54 Ill. Conditions of Supervision 57 IV. Employment and Workforce Development 58 V. Housing and Homelessness 63 VI. Access to Care for Physical and Mental Health and 66 Substance Use Disorders VII. People with Disabilities 70 VIII. LGBTO and People Living with AIDS 72 IX. Youth Reentry 74 VI. DRUG POLICY REFORM 80 Overview 80 I. Prevention 80 II. Treatment 82 Ill. Drug Courts 86 IV. Diversion 87 V. Marijuana 88 VI. Drug Law Enforcement 89 VII. Drugs and Foreign Policy 91 VIII. Novel Psychoactive Substances 93 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 98 and mental health disabilities often wind up in jail or INTRODUCTION prison by default, due to lack of adequate care in their communities. The new Administration and the 115th Congress have the opportunity to build a legacy of bipartisan These challenges – of huge taxpayer costs and leadership towards a more humane and just criminal economic waste, devastation to families and justice system, one that supports true public safety, communities, and racial bias and disproportionate health, and justice for all. impact – arise out of our unique American culture and history. Yet we can be hopeful. At the state and Over the past four to five decades, U.S. criminal local levels, policymakers across political, justice policies have driven an increase in geographic, racial, and ethnic lines are reevaluating incarceration rates that is unprecedented in this our criminal justice policies and adopting promising, country and unmatched elsewhere in the world. Our commonsense reforms. In red, blue, and purple country has 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated states alike, people are coming together seeking individuals, despite having less than five percent of more effective ways to respond to public safety the world’s population. According to the U.S. concerns. They are changing how they respond to Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics, an drug use and misuse, finding ways to build estimated 6,741,400 persons were supervised by community trust and support for law enforcement, adult correctional systems in the U.S. at the end of improving reentry success rates, and better 2015; and 2,173,800 of them were incarcerated in ensuring the fair functioning of the justice system. state or federal prisons or in local jails. The most recent data available indicate that direct spending The federal government, however, has been slower on corrections systems – prisons, jails, parole, and to act. Federal criminal laws have expanded far probation – is approximately $81 billion per year, beyond crimes traditionally understood to be the and this figure does not include the related costs of purview of the federal government, and they rely policing and court systems. heavily on extremely long and often mandatory prison sentences. Additionally, because federal The dollar amounts are staggering; yet the toll on policies and incentives set examples and drive society of U.S. criminal justice policies goes far decisions made at the state, local, and tribal levels, beyond the enormous number of dollars spent. The they affect not only those directly involved in the human costs – for individuals, their families, and federal system, but also the millions more in states their communities – are devastating, and the and local communities. burden is not equally shared. At every stage of the criminal justice system, poor people and people of When considering the role and responsibility of the color are significantly overrepresented. African federal government, it is critical to recognize that Americans make up 13 percent of the U.S. the strategies and apparatus of the “drug war” have population, yet comprise 40 percent of those significantly fueled our criminal justice policies and incarcerated. If current trends continue, one in three their impact at every level. The astounding growth Black males born in 2001, and one in six Latino and reach of the criminal justice system over the males born in that year, will go to prison at some recent decades cannot be adequately explained by point during his lifetime – compared to just one in rising crime rates or population growth. Instead, the 17 White males. The number of women in prison in increases in arrests, incarceration, and collateral the U.S. has increased at a rate 50% higher than consequences have been driven in large part by our men since 1980; LGBTQ individuals are dramatically nation’s outdated and ineffective war on drugs. overrepresented and face unique risks to their Drug war policies have justified increases in health and safety; and people with mental, physical, incarceration, furthered infringement on civil and human rights, clouded research and scientific !3 INTRODUCTION development of prevention and treatment options, • achieve racial justice in all aspects of our justice and made the criminal justice system the first line of systems; response for addressing almost any social or public • meet the needs of diverse and commonly health concern. We see the failures of the drug war overlooked constituencies that are impacted by playing out throughout our nation, from the largest the justice system including those of women, urban centers to suburban neighborhoods to small low income individuals, LGBTQ people, and rural towns – in families torn apart, rising overdose people with disabilities; and death rates, and so many more negative effects of • build complete and reliable data to inform our inadequate and counterproductive policies. No policymaking and ensure fairness and family, no community, remains untouched. effectiveness in all contexts. This document draws upon the expertise of the The recommendations that follow do not address working groups of the Justice Roundtable and every aspect of reforming the criminal justice others to provide policy recommendations to the system. They do, however, offer policymakers