USA: if prisons don’t work, what will?

The Democratic presidential candidates should look at what a growing number of prosecutors are doing to end mass incarceration.

A few years ago, a politician had to be brave to say anything like that out loud. Now it’s a mainstream and bipartisan view.

In a 2018 survey conducted for the American Civil Liberties Union, 59 percent of respondents said they would be more likely to support than oppose a candidate who supports reducing the prison population. Achieving that goal is now an accomplishment that politicians showcase. In January, Congress by wide margins passed the First Step Act to reduce some drug sentences and improve conditions in federal prisons. President Trump, despite painting a frightening picture of crime-ridden “American carnage” at his inauguration, invited the first drug offender released as a result to the State of the Union address.

It’s all pretty head-spinning after decades of elected officials competing to lock more people up and spotlight the scariest crimes. Now, with public opinion shifting far and fast and politicians hurrying to catch up, you could even argue that criminal justice reform has become the new marriage equality in terms of the turnaround in public attitudes.

That presents a major opportunity for Democratic presidential candidates. But for all the energy behind reform, no presidential candidate has articulated a big, comprehensive vision for transformational change. There’s a consensus that the system is broken, but no agreement on how to fix it.

The presidential candidate seeking to distinguish herself might start by looking at a new wave of reform-minded district attorneys who are challenging conventional law-and-order approaches in red states and blue ones.

For the candidates, thematically, a starting point should be that wealth should not determine a person’s fate in court, and profit should not drive the system. Bail bonds, privatized probation and corporate-run prisons are parasitic features of the justice system. Ending cash bail should be at the top of every candidate’s criminal justice agenda. So should getting rid of fines and fees that help fund local governments but trap people in cycles of debt.

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