a new report by the sentencing project describes the changes in policy and practice which enabled five states to reduce their prison population between 14-25%. the book, decarceration strategies: how 5 states achieved substantial prison population reductions, shows how these states' prison population reductions outweighs the national average over the last decade.
the five states profiled in the report (connecticut, michigan, mississippi, rhode island and south carolina) were selected for their geographic and political diversity, and can serve as a model for decarceration throughout america. each state has implemented a range of policy reforms, as well as decision-making by stakeholders.
connecticut: prison population declined 25% from 2007-2016. the state focused on reducing young people's contact with the justice system through changing criteria for detention, raising the age of adult jurisdiction from 16 to 18, and reducing school suspensions.
michigan: prison population declined 20% from 2006-2016. the state increased parole grants by expanding capacity of the parole board, and reduced prison recidivism by establishing technical rule violator centers for enhanced programming and services.
mississippi: prison population declined 17.5% from 2008-2016. the state reduced time served in prison by scaling back the "truth in sentencing" policy from 85% time served to 25%, applied changes retroactively, and adopted a risk assessment instrument which contributes to the doubling of the parole approval rate.
rhode island: prison population declined 23% from 2008-2016. the state reduced time served in prison by eliminating mandatory sentenced for drug crimes, and establishing earned time-credits of 10 days per month.
south carolina: prison population declined 14% from 2008-2016. the state reduced parole violator revocations to prison through diversion to alternative sanctions, and reduced prison recidivism for 17 to 25 year-old people through enhanced job-related prison programming and intensive aftercare reentry services.
i am
- mark j. tuggle
- harlem, usa
- same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.
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