Presidential Candidate Questionnaire on Criminal Justice Reform
Governor Deval Patrick
(1) Candidates unanimously agree on the need for justice reform. What is your primary reason for supporting reduction of the prison population? (Please select one)
a. To rectify racial injustices that disproportionately affect people of color.
b. To make our justice system more cost effective and save taxpayer dollars.
c. To provide individuals who have made mistakes with a second chance to live law-abiding lives.
d. To end unfair practices that negatively impact individuals in lower socio-economic brackets.
e. To improve the safety of our communities and lower the crime rate.
f. Other.
America needs a justice system that focuses less on warehousing people
than on preparing them to re-enter productive life. We will achieve a more just system of criminal justice by eliminating socio-economic and racial disparities and providing the imprisoned with a meaningful opportunity to return to society, while ensuring that our communities remain safe and victim rights are protected.
Our country incarcerates too many people, including a disproportionate number of people of color. We are failing ourselves by not investing in social programs, education, job training programs, and rehabilitation that divert people from crime to gainful employment and help the formerly incarcerated reintegrate successfully. And our approach makes no economic sense, as we spend far more to warehouse people rather than to find alternatives that provide a pathway to a productive life for people who have paid their debt to society.
I released my Equity Agenda on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and my full criminal justice reform agenda on January 29. Both are available at DevalPatrick.com.
(2) Candidates have put forward lengthy criminal justice reform plans with dozens of proposed reforms. What is the first criminal justice reform bill that you would put before Congress as President? (Please select one)
a. A bill to remove or reduce mandatory minimum sentences.
b. A bill to provide financial incentives to states that reduce their prison populations.
c. A bill to reform the probation system or reinstate parole in the federal system.
d. A bill to reform the bail system.
e. A bill to reform drug laws.
f. A bill to allow judges more flexibility in sentencing defendants to alternatives to prison.
g. A bill to end private prisons.
h. A bill to support police or prosecutorial reform.
i. A bill to increase opportunities for early release or remove barriers to successful reentry.
j. Other.
We need a comprehensive approach to criminal justice reform. An end to private prisons, mass incarceration, and the criminal prohibition on marijuana, a revival of parole earned through good behavior and acquisition of life skills and other programs to prepare the incarcerated for their release, treating those dealing with substance use disorders as patients instead of criminals, and sentencing reform that provides non-violent drug offenders a real chance at re-entering society through diversion, restorative justice and other alternatives to incarceration are all critical elements of a comprehensive package that we can achieve together. I also recognize that mandatory minimum sentencing disproportionately affects black people and people of color, and want to make sure the system is fair and justice is served in all aspects of the system.
(3) What is the first executive action that you would take as President on criminal justice reform? (Please select one)
a. Reform or expand the clemency process.
b. Repeal harsh prosecutorial directives of the Justice Department.
c. End the federal use of private prisons.
d. Establish a criminal justice reform commission.
e. Establish an oversight division for the Bureau of Prisons.
f. Fill vacancies in the United States Sentencing Commission.
g. Other.
All of these policies should only be the beginning of the process to purge our system of injustice and prejudice, of broken lives, failed outcomes, and a severe—and, unfortunately, often well-earned—lack of trust.
First, I will create a new Presidential Commission to study what we have been doing wrong for half a century that’s led to the current system, and what must be done at a federal, state and local level beyond the current slate of proposals suggested today to finally do what’s necessary to restore justice to all Americans. I will model the commission off of proposals such as the bipartisan bill introduced by Senator Kamala Harris and others as the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2017. As I describe in my policy proposals, I will also expand the clemency process, reform the Justice Department, and end the federal use of private prisons.
(4) What is the biggest step that you would take to combat systemic racial bias in the justice system? (Please select one)
a. Remove sentencing disparities for drug-related sentences.
b. Implement reforms to reduce the overall prison population.
c. End racial profiling across the justice system.
d. Divert low-level offenders away from jail and prison time.
e. Reform federal prosecutorial practices, or support local police reform.
f. End the school-to-prison pipeline.
g. Other.
We need to do all of the above, starting with efforts to divert offenders away from prison. That means supporting state-by-state diversion efforts, changing charging and plea-bargaining practices at the federal level, and fixing sentencing rules.
We need to invest in early intervention, investing in our children before they ever interact with the criminal justice system. We must permanently disrupt the pipeline leading students from schools to incarceration. I will direct the Education Department to lead efforts to end zero-tolerance discipline policies in public schools. We will work with states to limit the role of police in school discipline, and reduce the reliance on invasive surveillance systems in schools except where necessary for student security. We should ensure that schools are able to provide support programs for troubled youth, including social work and counseling services. We will invest in community centers that provide after school programs so that children have an enriching and safe place to go outside of the home.
(5) It is critical that the President and Congress continue to act on criminal justice reform to establish national leadership on the issue. However, 86 percent of the national prison population is under the control of states. Most states have already acted to reduce their populations. What is the first step you would take to further incentivize states to reform their justice systems? (Please select one)
a. Pass the Second Chance Reauthorization Act.
b. Provide incentive funding to states that reduce their prison populations, while keeping down crime.
c. Provide funding for states that reform their bail systems.
d. Provide funding for local diversion programs and mental health and substance abuse treatment.
e. Increase funding for local public defense systems.
f. Other.
My administration will pursue a host of strategies to drive reform at the state level.
We must support state-level sentencing and criminal justice reform through competitive grants and direct funding. No criminal justice reform at the federal level will be near sufficient unless it makes meaningful reform here. My administration will expand federal support for alternatives to incarceration programs and efforts to end cash bail. We will form a Department of Justice initiative to partner with elected and appointed state prosecutors and judges around the country seeking to reform criminal justice and exercise prudent discretion, and share best practices.
We will ensure that criminal justice reforms are evidence-based and effective at both substantially reducing the rate of incarceration as well as reducing actual crime. And we will reform juvenile justice and improve prevention and awareness efforts. Building on my “Raise the Age” work in Massachusetts, we will create incentives for states to address young adult crime in a way that aligns with brain science, and separate young adults from adult prisons.
(6) What is the first policy you would implement as President to increase successful reentry and reduce recidivism? (Please select one)
a. Increase access to higher education.
b. Increase employment opportunities.
c. Reform probation and parole laws.
d. Expand expungement and record sealing opportunities.
e. Provide greater drug abuse and mental health treatment.
f. Other.
We must invest in strong educational programs and creating real economic opportunity for the formerly incarcerated. When those fail, we need meaningful, substantive rehabilitation and re-entry programs. My administration will increase our investments in programs that lift people up and provide them with the support and training necessary to reenter society. These should include job training programs so that individuals have the skills needed to find gainful employment to support themselves, their families, and help grow local economies. We also need to tackle the lack of affordable housing so that everyone can have a safe place to call home. These investments will lower the rates of recidivism and help people get their lives back on track. Additionally, we need to “ban the box” on employment applications and reduce the time following the completion of a sentence after which criminal records can be expunged.
(7) A November 2018 Washington Post investigation found large scale obstruction by the Justice Department in implementing the First Step Act. As President, how will you ensure that the First Step Act is faithfully and fully implemented? (Please select one)
a. Ensure the Bureau of Prisons receives requisite funding to implement and expand the recidivism-reduction programming required by the Act.
b. Hold the Justice Department accountable to abide by the law’s sentencing reforms and allowing the resentencing of eligible individuals.
c. Improve the system in which federal prisoners are assessed for risk and needs before placed into recidivism-reduction programming.
d. Other.
(8) Of the current bipartisan bills pending in Congress, which is your priority to see passed this year? (Please select one)
a. The Fair Chance to Compete for Jobs Act, which would delay when federal employers may inquire about criminal history until later in the hiring process.
b. The Clean Slate Act, which would provide automatic record sealing for nonviolent, drug-related offenses for individuals who have remained crime free.
c. The REAL Act, which would remove the ban on incarcerated individuals accessing Pell Grants for higher education.
d. The Smarter Sentencing Act, which would reduce mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession offenses.
e. The Justice Safety Valve Act, which would allow judges to depart from harsh mandatory minimum sentences.
f. Other.
I would prioritize the Clean Slate Act, which mirrors the reforms I oversaw to Massachusetts’ criminal record system which reduced the “look back period” for expunging criminal records and “banned the box” requiring premature disclosure of criminal records on employment applications.
As President, I will work with the Congress to achieve comprehensive criminal justice reform, which must include investing in rehabilitation and re-entry programs including “ban the box” provisions, restoring Pell Grant access, and eliminating mandatory minimum sentencing.
(9) What is your view on whether and when voting rights should be restored to individuals with criminal convictions? (Please select one)
a. Voting rights should not be revoked for criminal convictions.
b. Voting rights should be automatically restored for individuals upon release from prison.
c. Voting rights should be automatically restored for individuals convicted of nonviolent or drug offenses upon release from prison.
d. Voting rights should be automatically restored for individuals after they have completed allterms of their sentence, including parole and probation.
e. Voting rights should not be restored for individuals who have had them revoked.
f. Other.
(10) Please provide one example of a bipartisan effort you have engaged in to advance justice reform. (Please limit to 250 words)
As Governor, I helped lead Massachusetts to become a national model of criminal justice reform through bipartisan legislation and concerted action. I repeatedly introduced legislation to abolish mandatory minimum sentences for large groups of offenders—with a special focus on right-sizing sentences for non-violent drug offenses. I advanced this agenda through a 2012 crime bill which reduced mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenses. The 2012 bill also opened up opportunities for parole, work release, and earned good time for many individuals who were already in prison. In 2013, I signed the “Raise the Age” law, raised the maximum age for juvenile jurisdiction from 17 to 18, keeping 17-year-olds in the juvenile system. In 2014, in an attempt to spur progress in the state legislature, I reconstituted the state sentencing commission with the goal of setting in motion reform of mandatory minimum sentencing in Massachusetts.
(11) How would you work to build a bipartisan consensus to move the broadest possible justice reform package across the finish line? (Please limit to 250 words)
This isn’t about specific policies alone. This is a leadership opportunity. We need leadership that builds bridges. A politics that says we have to agree on everything before we can work together on anything, that offers government by slogan and short-term wins, is exactly the kind of politics that brought us to this point. I am running for President to deliver meaningful change that lasts — not for the sake of change itself, or in the service of some passing catchphrase. But to help America keep her foundational commitments, to renew the American Dream, and to put it within reach of everyone everywhere.
I was the only Democrat elected Governor of Massachusetts in 30 years, and only the second African American ever elected Governor in this country. Of all our accomplishments, I am most proud of the way we achieved those results. It was about building together, not tearing others down—about turning to each other, not on each other. We did it because we governed not just for today but for tomorrow, not just for the people who voted for us, but for everyone everywhere. I believe this is the only way to deliver change that lasts.