To have a justice system that is fair, the judges in our courts cannot be made solely of old, white men that have the same implicit biases and do not reflect our country’s population.

In order to combat against this, the United States Judicial Conference Committee is holding a diversity symposium in 19 cities across the country today, in hopes to recruit potential U.S. federal judges of various backgrounds. As you can see in the map below, the 19 chosen cities are spread out in an attempt to reach a multitude of diverse candidates that could help represent their population from the bench.

Women and racial minorities are underrepresented and hold disproportionate shares of the court system compared to their prevalence in the community. This often creates an unfair advantage for white men within the court system, as human beings, even judges who are supposed to be impartial, are wired to be more likely to favor those that they can identify with.

The NAACP website shared, “If African Americans and Hispanics were incarcerated at the same rates as whites, prison and jail populations would decline by almost 40%.”

This is an alarming statistic that shows the racial imbalance within the justice system, leading to unfair incarceration rates.

The absurd whiteness of America’s court system, in 2 charts https://t.co/yp0o8mQUzL

— Vox (@voxdotcom) October 3, 2019

By expanding diversity within the court system, the criminal justice system will likely improve and become more fair and equal for people of all backgrounds, as judges will be able to make better informed decisions which will better reflect the whole population rather than only having one collective viewpoint on the issues before them.

Considering the fact that racial disparities are a large factor of America’s mass incarceration issue, diversity in the court system may also very well help to fix this problem that needs addressed.

Dream panel discussing the role of judges in criminal justice reform and the need for professional diversity on the bench (esp more former public defenders): @BridgetMaryMc @equalityAlec Judge Felipe Restrepo and Fed Defender David Patton #PrisonersofPolitics pic.twitter.com/Fy1h98x4sI

— Rachel Barkow (@RachelBarkow) October 21, 2019

Furthermore, diversity on the bench includes more than demographics; it also includes professional background. Public Interest attorneys, public defenders and those in private practice must have a voice also, as they are typically the ones that have the most experience in advocating for everyday people.

Overall, if today’s diversity panel serves its purpose and does successfully recruit diverse future judges, the criminal justice system, and therefore the prison system, will become more equal to Americans of all backgrounds.

As of Wednesday’s Democratic Debate, Pete Buttigieg, mayor of South Bend, Indiana, has emerged as a strong candidate. If Buttigieg keeps rising to the top, black Americans could look forward to some important changes.

He has released a criminal justice reform plan under his Douglass Plan proposal for restorative justice. In this plan, Buttigieg outlines steps to end mass incarceration that are much like those of the other candidates including putting people over profits by abolishing private prisons, ending the cash bail system, getting rid of mandatory minimums and legalizing marijuana.

Unlike other candidates, Buttigieg focused his plan around restoring equality in the justice system, most specifically for the black community.

Research shows that black Americans are treated unfairly compared to white Americans within the criminal justice system. In fact, black males are six times more likely to be incarcerated than white males.

Pete Buttigieg's "Douglass Plan" includes:
• $10 billion for black entrepreneurs
• $25 billion for historically black colleges
• Legalizing marijuana
• Expunging past drug convictions
• Reducing the prison population by half
• A new Voting Rights Act https://t.co/8EkpfRvN8j

— NPR (@NPR) July 11, 2019

By ending criminalization of things like poverty and some drugs, Buttigieg aims to reduce the number of prisoners by 50 percent. In order to help even out the playing field in terms of economic disadvantages, he plans to provide necessary capital and other tools necessary to eliminate the opportunity gaps which also lead to the racial inequality in the prison system and beyond.

With Buttigieg’s plan, black Americans could benefit from a safer, more equal life in society and with the law and the racial inequality in prisons would likely be diminished. Though Buttigieg is young and newer to national politics, he has proven thus far that he is an advocate for racial minorities and will do whatever it takes to create an atmosphere of equality if given the opportunity.

Due to his chronic illness, low threat and old age, a prisoner previously sentenced to life in prison was released yesterday after 21 years behind bars, and he has the First Step Act to thank.

This year’s First Step Act that I touched on in a previous post has shown benefits to prisoners in many different ways, including the way that it changed the rules for compassionate release.

Until recently, compassionate release was nearly impossible to obtain by chronically ill and elderly prisoners that it was meant to benefit, because it was not widely known about, applications were hard to complete and timely responses were not required.

Now, thanks to the First Step Act, compassionate release processes have been altered in an attempt to better provide benefits for the prisoners that it applies to. It changed and expanded criteria to be considered, gave prisoners the right to appeal a denial of their request directly to court and called for notification and assistance with the application process as well as timely responses to requests.

This is why the 76-year-old prisoner that was charged with running a large cocaine distribution ring 21 years ago was granted release yesterday due to his multiple, severe medical conditions. The Bureau of Prisons had denied his request for release when it was made in September; however, the First Step Act allowed him to appeal the decision to the courts, where he won the appeal.

This man, deemed to no longer be a threat to society, can now be cared for by his family in the comfort of his daughter’s home for the remainder of his life. Without the appeal power given through the First Step Act, he would be uncomfortably suffering with his conditions until he died in prison.

Essentially, the First Step Act took some power back from the Federal Bureau of Prisons, which through their lack of accountability and transparency have allowed so many situations within prisons, such as the issues within the compassionate release process, to be mishandled and kept from the general public.

https://twitter.com/mmgillwriter/status/1184470169864888320?s=20

Because compassionate release is now more accessible, our criminal justice system not only provides a better situation for the elderly or chronically ill and their families near the end of their lives, but it allows the prisoners to obtain better, more convenient treatment and also takes some pressures off our taxpayers by reducing treatment costs within the prisons, allowing multiple different stakeholders to benefit.

Former Representative of Texas, Beto O’Rourke has shaped his criminal justice reform plan around legalization of marijuana and prohibition-driven injustices due to his strong, personal beliefs about the issue.

“We will legalize marijuana in America,” @BetoORourke tells the crowding, saying those with records for possession of marijuana will be expunged. #BetoInTucson

— Joe Ferguson (@joeferguson) October 6, 2019

It is obvious that O’Rourke’s stance on Marijuana is not driven solely by the recent uproars of legalization, which is exemplified by not only his outspoken comments on the issue in the past, but also by his book that was published in 2011 when he was a member of the El Paso, Texas City Council, about the failed drug war in the United States calling for the decriminalization of cannabis.

In addition to his step by step plan of legalizing marijuana, O’Rourke plans to to release those currently imprisoned due to marijuana charges.

Furthermore, he would impose taxes on marijuana sales which would fund his “Drug War Justice Grant” plan to help those previously convicted of marijuana charges to repair damages caused by the war on drugs.

O'Rourke unveils plan to legalize marijuana, end war on drugs https://t.co/Pz9d9MZLYp pic.twitter.com/FDuL7ZcXRg

— The Hill (@thehill) September 19, 2019

Unlike some of the other candidates, O’Rourke shares each step that he will take in order to achieve his criminal justice reform plan rather than only stating outcomes that he will somehow make happen.

Overall, O’Rourke has a strong plan which has been thought out and developed for years, that will help to end mass incarceration by reducing drug charges and he even takes the extra step by creating a plan of rehabilitation for those impacted. By focusing on one main issue of marijuana in the criminal justice system, O’Rourke shows promise for actual reform to take place.

At least with this candidate, voters know exactly what will be done in terms of criminal justice reform.

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren prides herself in her fight for middle class families. Her campaign includes a criminal justice reform plan that focuses on banning private prisons, bringing service fees for essential services to a halt and holding contractors accountable. Warren stands behind the idea that our country has criminalized too many things.

At first, it seemed that Warren had no concept of how she would fix the criminal justice system as seen in her meeting with criminal justice reform activists in the video below.

However, these activists may have brought awareness to Warren about the needs for change, as she posted a criminal justice reform plan as part of her campaign three days after the meeting.

The main points of her plan include strengthening public defenders, ending cash bail, reducing gun violence, reducing mandatory minimums, ending the drug war and getting rid of the death penalty. Warren stands behind the idea that our country has criminalized too many things.

Warren’s plan is detailed and addresses many of the most talked about issues within the system today; however, it seems to be too far-reaching, making it feel unrealistic, instead of focusing majorly on a few important issues.

When it comes to ending cash bail and strengthening public defenders, these parts of Warren’s plan reinforce the ideals that Warren stands for, fighting for the middle class.

However, the other aspects of the plan seem to have come out of the blue shortly after being asked pressing questions by the criminal justice reform activists, which causes question of her motives to arise. Are these people-pleasing answers to the system, or does Warren actually believe in this plan and is she willing to fight for it?

Whether she fully believes in her words or not, she is rather convincing in her claims that appeal to multiple suppressed groups including pregnant women, African Americans and the LGBTQ community.

https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1182468483906527232?s=20

It’s no surprise that polls are currently showing her at the top of democratic charts as she wins these groups over with her words of support.

Elizabeth Warren is now leading the Democratic primary race https://t.co/8wELPpxVLd

— The Economist (@TheEconomist) October 14, 2019

These voters should be wary to quickly jump on the bandwagon and support Warren only because she tells them what they want to hear. They should demand evidence and details about how she will address their issues rather than falling for her simple claims that every situation will be remedied.

Ultimately, the campaign plan attempts to encompass way too much at once.

As this week’s democratic debate approaches, let’s look into the candidate’s views on the criminal justice system and how they would change the prison system as we know it, if elected.

This democratic debate on October 15 will feature 12 candidates, which is the most that there has ever been.

To start off, former Vice President Joe Biden‘s campaign shows strong will to reform America’s criminal justice system, and it seems that he highlights the possible economic advantages of the reform more than anything else.

Biden’s main claim is that the issue of mass incarceration should be addressed by directing drug-offenders to treatment facilities rather than prisons. This is interesting, as Biden helped pass many crime laws worsening the country’s mass incarceration issue in the 80s and 90s. What has caused his change of heart?

Senator Cory Booker has raised a point from this, that Biden is now simply working towards fixing a broken system that he helped create.

Regardless, the war on drugs has been a huge issue throughout America’s history that remains largely problematic today, and does in fact need addressed.

Next, Biden aims to reach equality and fairness within the justice system by addressing needs of children, women, all races and all economic backgrounds. Another interesting belief, as his actions as Delaware Senator in the 90s yet again conflict with this stance considering that he previously claimed to not care about the reasons that crimes were committed or if the victimization of race or economic status caused crime.

Joe Biden talking about criminal justice reform is LAUGHABLE!

– JOE was responsible for disproportionate sentencing for black Americans
– JOE was responsible for onerous mandatory minimums
– JOE was responsible for culture of incarceration

NOPE JOE! @realDonaldTrump fixed it!

— Kayleigh McEnany (@kayleighmcenany) September 13, 2019

Additionally, by helping to rehabilitate the previously incarcerated, Biden’s campaign claims that not only will those people be rightly aided in their return to society, but the economy will be boosted. While this is a wonderful plan, there is the talk about the economy again. What is the real focus, the individuals or the economy?

Finally, Biden wants to push back against profiteers in our criminal justice system leading to their elimination. This aspect does show that Biden may not be all about the money, but it could also be because profiteering allows the money to go only to large, private corporations.

Ultimately, Biden does have strong beliefs about the need for reformation of the criminal justice system, but his motives seem misled as they focus more on the economy than the actual human beings that suffer from the injustices within the system.

While he has expressed regret about past actions, we still must ask ourselves if he wants to bring these changes for the right reasons.

It’s no secret that prison conditions aren’t always state of the art, but does the public know how bad life really gets behind the walls of these institutions?

Rikers Island, one of the most famous correctional facilities with a reputation for violence, has the possibility of being closed down pending an October 17 vote by the NYC Council, due to the unfair and inhumane conditions that prisoners face.

Shutting down Rikers and replacing it with smaller, safer prisons would be a step toward better conditions for prisoners; however, Rikers is not the only place where such conditions occur. Plenty of similar facilities in America have the same internal environments but are simply less known. If these prisons can hide the violent, unsafe happenings from the public, then the issues will not be addressed and prisoners will continue to live in horrible conditions across the rest of the country, no matter what happens with the vote on Rikers.

For example, Scott Whitney, a prisoner at Martin Correctional Institution in Florida, leaked a secret video to the Miami Herald this week that he took exposing the horrible conditions that he and his fellow prisoners face daily.

This is one of the most astonishing prison reporting scoops I can remember seeing. Read this. Watch this.

Shocking as it is, I hear All. These. Allegations in Texas prisons, too. Some, I saw first-hand in New York prisons.

The footage is rare. The conditions it shows are not. https://t.co/i5MaVPReJZ

— Keri Blakinger (@keribla) October 6, 2019

The excessive mold, violence, drug overdoses, lack of security and horrible living conditions that are shown in the video are the reality of prisons in America.

Currently, there is a trend of challenging lawmakers to actually go visit a prison and see the conditions inside before passing any laws involving the criminal justice system.

Let's continue to encourage lawmakers to educate themselves about the conditions of confinement in federal/state prisons and jails. Thank you for getting the word out. #VisitAPrison pic.twitter.com/7U8whkmmIR

— FAMM Foundation (@FAMMFoundation) October 8, 2019

This is a good attempt at educating the public and politicians about terrible conditions of prisons; however, it is ineffective as prison staff are most definitely going to put on a show if a politician walks through their doors and portray the prison in a false light (just like that school teacher you once had that never taught a thing, yet became the best teacher in the world on audit day).

Additionally, the overcrowding and violence in these prisons has negative impacts on mental health for prisoners. This creates an even larger problem because treatment for mental health behind bars is not all that it is cracked up to be. In fact, prisons attempt to dodge the “burden” of treating their inmates with mental health issues by refraining from acknowledging the seriousness of the issues.

By rating prisoners’ illnesses with a lower category of seriousness than deserved, these institutions avoid providing the necessary mental health care to the people that need it. This then creates a never ending cycle of more prison violence as those with very extreme, untreated mental illnesses often lash out at other prisoners.

Ultimately, in order to reform the criminal justice system in effective ways, internal prison conditions must be improved in terms of mental health evaluation and treatment, security and violence control, and the health codes of the physical space that prisoners must live in.

Advocate groups such as Cut50 and The Marshall Project are actively working towards finding ways to address these issues of inhumane prison conditions.

While the incident in Orlando where a resource office arrested a six-year-old for having a tantrum may seem absurd, 13 states have no minimum age for prosecution.

As many other state laws entail age restrictions, those laws recognize that younger children cannot be held to the same standards as teens or adults, so what makes it okay to arrest young children for common behavior like tantrums?

School to prison pipeline. Get ‘em in the system early and make it easier to arrest them in the future by establishing a pattern of behavior in the record. They have been doing this to young AAs for decades. A 6 year old got ARRESTED, FINGERPRINTED AND BOOKED, 4 having a tantrum. https://t.co/c0j6LUnW1c

— Preston Wilson (@PrestonWilson44) September 22, 2019

This school-to-prison pipeline is essentially the process by which American youth are pushed into the juvenile criminal justice system by means of criminalizing small, sometimes ridiculous offenses such as (you guessed it) throwing tantrums in school at the age of six! This cycle derails the lives of juveniles at a young age by building a negative criminal profile before they can even understand what is happening.

https://twitter.com/nkjemisin/status/1175577986843774977

To take it a step further, the idea of relating this incident to slavery brings up the important topic of race in such criminalization. Would a white child have had the same treatment in this situation? It’s hard to say.. but the majority of the online population seems to think not.

A SIX-year-old!?
Black girls are far more likely to be referred to law enforcement and arrested than their white peers.
We need to stop criminalizing children. No child should be charged with battery for throwing a tantrum!https://t.co/KkVbAaE3Vj

— Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman (@RepBonnie) September 23, 2019

This shows the threat that people of color are presented with in everyday life due to the criminal justice system’s criminalization of race, often referred to as “living while black.”

Y’all my Asian sociology professor just said when she thinks of a criminal, the first thing that comes to mind is a “male and more so black people”. When do I file for emotional distress and get my check from the Dean of Students Office ??

— lil black girl’ (@_iikayy) September 25, 2019

The negative bias and criminalization of race starts in schools, where black children are 338 percent more likely to be suspended than white classmates. This shows the school-to-prison pipeline at work and interrupts childhood as well as education while setting these black students up for life on the wrong path.

Of all males in the U.S. prison system, 68% do not have a high school diploma. The school-to-prison pipeline likely pushed these men into the system and therefore diminishing their opportunities, creating a cycle of racial injustice.

Currently, no official policies have been introduced to the criminal justice system to fight back against criminalization of race or students, but groups such as The Advancement Project and YWCA are actively working to educate society on these issues and create equal opportunities.

As the subject of criminal justice reform entered the democratic debate last week, the financial burden placed on prisoners that often traps them in a cycle of the system has been a heavy topic.

Many that are not familiar with the prison system do not realize that it is legal for every state to charge prisoners for their incarceration, racking up unpayable fees during many lengthy stays with no real way to earn income.

The pay-to-stay policy does not allow prisoners to acquire much, if any, money without handing it over to the institution for their care. This causes prisoners to fall into debt or simply acquire no money while they are in prison.

Many incarcerated people (around 50%) have children that they must pay child support for. There is paperwork that can be filed to avoid extra fees and build-up of debt while imprisoned, but many do not know of/have access to these papers, leading to another financial burden of their imprisonment which the failure to pay upon release will either result in more fees, return to prison, or both.

When prisoners are released but charged with fees for their stay, court costs, meetings with probation officers, etc. and are unable to pay the fees, they are at risk of being sent back to prison due to their inability to pay..which will only cause them to acquire more charges and fees in the process.

Even once put on parole, people that are forced to be electronically monitored are placed with a huge financial burden of a steep set up fee for their ankle bracelets, followed by daily or monthly fees that they often cannot afford to pay because they lost their jobs due to imprisonment (), made extremely minimal wages working in prison and can’t find work because they have a criminal record.

Even if ex-prisoners are lucky enough to find a job, these ankle bracelets can end up costing the majority of their monthly income, still leaving them unable to afford all other aspects of their lives.

While incurring all of these costs, homelessness often becomes an issue for the previously incarcerated because if they cannot afford to pay prison fees, how can they afford a place to live? Especially with the cost of housing in our country today.

Since the previously incarcerated can’t meet their basic needs of survival including housing, food, and clothing, some result in committing crimes in order to meet these needs, which ultimately leads them back to prison simply due to their lack of money.