To end mass incarceration, reform our excessively punitive systems

More than 50 years have passed since the U.S. prison population surged, and advocacy organizers nationwide have since united to challenge mass incarceration. The U.S. will need continued leadership from those most affected by the harms of relying on incarceration despite the consequences. 

Today, almost 2 million people — a disproportionate number of whom are Black — are incarcerated in our nation’s prisons and jails instead of living in their communities. The prison population has ballooned since the early 1970s underscoring the urgency to shift toward community-based public safety that is not defined by violent arrests, lengthy prison terms and collateral consequences that destroy families and communities.

That is why communities most affected by the nation’s punitive crime responses can and should lead the movement to challenge mass incarceration. By sustaining momentum and advocating for changes in criminal law, we can champion alternatives to punitive sentences, preserving family and community bonds through our advocacy. 

Directly affected champions of voting rights and youth justice reforms are leading efforts to challenge overly punitive responses to crime. Since 1997, more than 2 million people have regained voting rights due to reforms. Between 2000-2020, the number of youth held in juvenile justice facilities fell from 109,000 to 25,000 — a 77 percent decline. 

Recent trends in criminal legal reforms suggest a popular resistance to punitive criminal legal policies. Compassionate release policies in New Mexico and North Carolina now make possible the release of elderly or seriously ill incarcerated individuals. States like California, Colorado and Minnesota have adopted or expanded second-look policies for reconsidering certain criminal sentences. Moreover, Ohio’s recent resounding approval of the ballot initiative authorizing the sale and purchasing of marijuana signals a shift in public sentiment away from punishment. 

Earlier this summer, more than 100 advocates and organizers, many of whom were directly impacted by the criminal legal system, and researchers met in Chicago to discuss voting rights expansions this year in Minnesota and New Mexico. And in September, hundreds of advocates met in Los Angeles to strategize how to prevent new prison construction in Alabama and Kentucky.

I’ve been inspired by their leadership, and I know the possibility of change. I experienced incarceration’s impact myself when friends and family were locked up. I’ve also witnessed the life-affirming experiences of reconnecting with loved ones at family reunions and graduations from educational or professional programs that change the trajectory of the lives of those who survived incarceration.  

To meaningfully achieve community-based public safety, tactics and strategies guided by those impacted by incarceration will help focus change on substantial reforms and targeted interventions that reduce contact with the nation’s criminal legal system. Reforms must scale back lengthy prison terms for serious crimes. An incarcerated elder, sentenced at 21 for a serious conviction is likely a very different person today than they were then.  

Reforms must also prioritize programs like the Nurse Family Partnership, a visitation program shown to significantly reduce arrest rates for participating children and their mothers.  Reforms must focus resources to strengthen effective remedies in communities impacted by high incarceration rates. Emerging research shows that a community-level approach such as the Nurse Family Partnership can effectively improve safety through informal networks.  

As we contemplate the next 50 years, our collective goal should be transforming our punitive criminal legal system. Public safety hinges on fully funded services designed to support the most marginalized communities and solve the root causes of crime, not arrests or lengthy prison terms.  

While the future remains uncertain, our commitment to reshaping the landscape of criminal justice is unwavering. 

Nicole D. Porter is the senior director of advocacy at The Sentencing Project.