Constituent Question: Criminal Justice Reform
Full Question: Do you believe that the criminal justice system needs to be reformed?
In several respects, yes. I’m very fortunate to have extremely minimal interactions with the justice system myself (aside from the occasional parking or traffic ticket), so I would welcome anyone with more experience with the justice system (either personally or via family members) to contact me to share your thoughts. If elected, I would be open to justice system reforms that don’t lead to an increase in rates of criminal activity.
One aspect of the justice system that seems particularly perverse and antiquated to me is clause of the 13th amendment that allows “involuntary servitude … as a punishment for a crime” as a backdoor for modern slavery (regardless of race). In practice, this allows correctional departments to force inmates to work for no or extremely low wages, which would not be acceptable anywhere else in society. When this is combined with the high incarceration rates for socio-economically disadvantaged communities for petty crimes, this is an area of the justice system ripe for reform.
Before I would file any related legislation, I would be sure to perform my due diligence to understand the financial and practical implications of any changes to the current inmate wage schedule. I also understand that prison sentences are a means of punishment and deterrence for future crimes, so I am not suggesting that work performed by inmates should be a path to wealth creation. However, un- and under-compensated, forced labor in any capacity seems inherently unjust.
Links with Relevant Information
People I Mostly Admire podcast episodes:
Planet Money podcast episodes: