Welcome to the inaugural blog of the American Conservative Union Foundation’s Center for Criminal Justice Reform. The growing movement of conservative leaders pressing for reforms in the criminal justice system has reached “critical weight” with leaders such as Ed Meese, Newt Gingrich, Asa Hutchinson, Bill Bennett, J.C. Watts, David Keene and Grover Norquist speaking out forcefully in support of reforms.
The ACU Foundation is committed to providing thoughtful, conservative solutions to the problems that plague the system. Over the coming months we will use this space to keep you informed about issues such as why Congress is behind the curve on applying the lessons of our successful reforms in the states, and which Congressional leaders are leading the charge for reforms on the Hill. Here are a few of the many issues we’ll give you background on: the success of programs that prepare inmates to be good neighbors when they are released; the frightening number of juveniles charged with minor offenses such as curfew violations and truancy who are being removed from their homes and placed in state facilities in West Virginia; the success of critical response teams in keeping the non-dangerous mentally ill out of jails; the overcriminalization of our society by the states and federal government; the criminalization of politics; and the growing number of prosecutors who are censured for unethical practices. And these are just a few of the topics we will cover for you.
We will also be building out the website to give you deeper information on these issues.
Please let me know if you have any suggestions for topics to cover [email protected]
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