Reform the U.S. Justice System: Let's Realize the Need

Many innocent persons stay in jails or prisons for days, weeks, months, or even years waiting for trial because they can’t afford to pay the cash bail required to release them until their trial.

The right to a speedy trial supposedly guaranteed by the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution, seems to not be fulfilled in a lot of cases.    

Do you think much about the justice system in the United States? If you are a typical person, my guess is that you give little thought to it.

Issues like prison conditions, injustice in the bail system, and other aspects of our legal system often get scant attention in the average individual’s thoughts as a law-abiding citizen. Yet such issues do concern us.

At some point we or someone we know may experience the injustices of the system firsthand. And we do face the enormous costs to taxpayers and society of the system.

Some of the Problems

According to data accessed in 2020, the United States had more persons in prisons and jails than any other country in the world, over two million people, according to World Prison Brief Data[1]. The United States was second to China when I accessed World Prison Brief Data[1] again on March 28, 2023. That's U.S. progress, but not much.

The United States also had the most prisoners per capita, 655 persons per 100,000 population in July 2019 according to Statista.com[2]. In January 2023 the U.S. was down to 505 persons per 100,000 according to Statstica.com[2], which was still one of the highest in the world, though not #1. Again, that's progress, but not much. 

A PrisonPolicy.org report[3] states that our “system of mass incarceration costs the government and families of justice-involved people at least 182 billion dollars a year,” as of some years ago. Figures are probably significantly higher now.

Taxpayers pay enormous amounts for our justice system, but other “hidden costs of incarceration” paid by family members, etc., add additional huge amounts. A New York Times article[4] is one of many that discuss some of these hidden costs.

Overcrowding of jails and prisons and staff shortages are big problems. Also, far too much criminal activity occurs inside these incarceration facilities: drug abuse, violence against inmates and guards, etc.

Prisoners deserve to be treated fairly and rehabilitated, not to suffer inhumane treatment. Among the many articles about inhumane conditions prisoners endure are the two linked to in this sentence on USAToday.com[5] and NewRepublic.com.[6].

Our bail system, which I mentioned briefly in the first sentence of this article, is one of the big problems.

Bail Reform

We must “reform a bail system that is discriminatory and wasteful” states a nicely written 2017 New York Times Op-Ed piece,[7] co-written by two United States Senators (California Senator Kamala Harris and Rand Paul from my home state of Kentucky). Those two senators sponsored the Pretrial Integrity & Safety Act of 2017[8], which seemed to be a good idea, but as far as I know has never passed or even been voted on by the Senate. Bail reform is a major need.

The original purpose of setting cash bail was probably to ensure that defendants appeared at their trial instead of skipping town. A defendant wouldn’t want to lose the money they’d put up. But the way bail is administered is unjust and ineffective. Read the Senators’ op-ed piece linked to above for some details on this injustice.

Overall Criminal Justice Reform

Congress passed and then President Trump signed into law in 2019 “The First Step Act” which Vox.com[9] calls “the most significant criminal justice reform legislation in years.” This seems to be a good “first step,” but it leaves much room for further reform. And it only covers the federal prison system, not state or local prisons and jails.

The United States is in need of major criminal justice reform:

·      One need is to better instill morals in young people so they don’t embark on criminal activity.

·         We also need bail reform and sentencing reform to reduce the number of inmates.

·      We need to improve conditions in prisons and jails so inmates get reasonably good food, health care, and overall living conditions with much less crime and violence. Adding more staffing and better quality staffing are two keys toward attaining this. Better rehabilitation programs that reduce recidivism is another key; helping inmates improve their education and work skills can help them.

Improving the care of inmates and reducing the number of inmates helps them and us. If fewer persons are in prison and more are outside working, it increases tax revenue while decreasing tax expenditures on the prison system.

Reforming the expensive, time consuming appeals process is another need. It may take many years for a case to get all the way from a person being charged, to being tried, and then the case appealed all the way to the United States Supreme Court for consideration, then being heard there and a final decision made. Below is a photo of the Supreme Court building I took on June 22, 2017.

Relatively few of those in our prison system are guilty of violent crimes or pose a major risk if released. Indeed, due to the way our bail system works, many of them have not yet been tried or found guilty or innocent. Allowing their release would be a step in the proper direction. Seeking to reduce the lengthy periods before trials in many cases is another need.  

Many inmates are treated well, but many are not. I support major criminal justice reform for the United States. Do you agree?

ENDNOTES:

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[1] “Highest to Lowest—Prison Population Total”; World Prison Brief, Institute for Crime & Justice Policy Research, PrisonStudies.org; webpage accessed January 18, 2020, and again on March 28, 2023; https://www.prisonstudies.org/highest-to-lowest/prison-population-total?field_region_taxonomy_tid=All

[2] “Countries with the largest number of prisoners per 100,000 of the national population, as of July 2019”; Statista.com; webpage accessed January 18, 2020, and again on March 28, 2023; https://www.statista.com/statistics/262962/countries-with-the-most-prisoners-per-100-000-inhabitants/the-most-prisoners-per-100-000-inhabitants/

[3] Peter Wagner and Bernadette Rabuy; “Following the Money of Mass Incarceration”; January 25, 2017; PrisonPolicy.org; webpage accessed January 18, 2020; https://www.prisonpolicy.org/reports/money.html

[4] Nicole Lewis and Beatrix Lockwood; “How Families Cope With the Hidden Costs of Incarceration for the Holidays”;  New York Times; December 17, 2019, updated December 20, 2019; webpage accessed January 18, 2020; https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/17/us/incarceration-holidays-family-costs.html

[5] DeAnna R. Hoskins and Vivian D. Nixon; “Freezing temps, contaminated water are inhumane; people in prison deserve better”; USAToday.com; February 21, 2019; webpage accessed January 18, 2020; https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/policing/2019/02/21/congress-must-exercise-oversight-end-inhumane-conditions-inmates/2909122002/

[6] Matt Ford; “The Everyday Brutality of America’s Prisons”; NewRepublic; April 5, 2019; webpage accessed January 18, 2020; https://newrepublic.com/article/153473/everyday-brutality-americas-prisons

[7] Kamala D. Harris and Rand Paul; “To Shrink Jails, Let’s Reform Bail”; New York Times Op-Ed piece; July 20, 2017; webpage accessed January 18, 2020; https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/20/opinion/kamala-harris-and-rand-paul-lets-reform-bail.html

[8] “Pretrial Integrity and Safety Act of 2017”; S. 1593, Congress.gov; webpage accessed January 18, 2020; https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/senate-bill/1593/text?q=%7B%22search%22%3A%5B%22Pretrial+integrity+and+Safety+Act%22%5D%7D&r=1 

[9] German Lopez; “The First Step Act, explained”; Vox.com; updated February 5, 2019; webpage accessed January 18, 2020; https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/2018/12/18/18140973/state-of-the-union-trump-first-step-act-criminal-justice-reform

NOTE:

This article submitted to Google Blogger on January 19, 2020 is virtually identical to one the author submitted to Craft News Report, a website operated by his friend Paul Craft, on January 18, 2020.

This artilce was last revised on March 28, 2023.