Criminal justice reform

Our criminal justice system is out of balance.

“I will never stop working on issues of equality and opportunity, race, and justice. That is a promise. I’ve done it my entire adult life. I will always be in your corner.”

HILLARY, JULY 31, 2015

Our criminal justice system is out of balance. Although the United States has less than 5 percent of the world’s population, we have almost 25 percent of the total prison population. A significant percentage of the more than 2 million Americans incarcerated today are low-level, nonviolent offenders. African American men are far more likely to be stopped and searched by police, charged with crimes, and sentenced to longer prison terms. There are an estimated 1.5 million black men who are missing from their families and communities because of incarceration and premature death.

In order to reform our criminal justice system, we need to recognize some hard truths about race in America. From Ferguson to Staten Island to Baltimore, Hillary has said the patterns are unmistakable and undeniable: The tragic deaths of Michael Brown, Walter Scott, Tamir Rice, Eric Garner, and Freddie Gray are a reminder of the need to address race in America, reform our criminal justice system, and move the nation forward.

“Black lives matter. Everyone in this country should stand firmly behind that... Since this campaign started, I've been talking about the work we must do to address the systemic inequities that persist in education, in economic opportunity, in our justice system. But we have to do more than talk—we have to take action.”

HILLARY, JULY 20, 2015

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5Xv80YydnI

“There is something profoundly wrong when African American men are still far more likely to be stopped and searched by police, charged with crimes, and sentenced to longer prison terms than are meted out to their white counterparts.”

HILLARY, APRIL 29, 2015

Hillary will work to fix these disparities by:

•Ending the era of mass incarceration. As president, Hillary will work to reform our criminal justice system by changing the way we approach punishment and prison. She will reform mandatory minimum sentences for low-level nonviolent offenses, increase support for mental health and drug treatment, pursue alternative punishments for low-level offenders, and end private prisons. The campaign does not accept contributions from federally registered lobbyists or PACs for private prison companies, and will donate any such direct contributions to charity.

•Encouraging the use of smart strategies—such as police body cameras—to fight crime and rebuild trust in our communities. Hillary has called for every police department in the nation to have body cameras to improve transparency and accountability on both sides of the lens. She also believes that the best practices of successful police departments that are protecting the public without resorting to unnecessary force should be applied by police forces nationwide.

•Urging Americans to come to terms with hard truths about race and justice.Black men across this country are being killed at a rate that far outpaces any other group. We must address the role race continues to play in America in order to reform our criminal justice system and move the nation forward.

•Strengthening America’s families. We cannot ensure smart policing or reform the criminal justice system unless we also address the underlying issues facing African Americans. This is why Hillary plans to provide better economic opportunities for the middle class, make college affordable for all, and ensure that families are reaching their potential.