Five Things This Week: The CJ Reform Supported by 96% of Republicans, Home Confinement Updates & More

Here are the five things you should know about justice reform this week:
 
“...even as candidates for political office have recently ramped up tough-on-crime messaging, in some cases calling for harsher sentences, attitudes in Louisiana are shifting about how the justice system should treat people convicted of non-violent crimes, the poll shows.”
 
A poll commissioned by Justice Action Network, which surveyed over 600 Louisianans, revealed some interesting insights about how voters in the state are thinking about criminal justice reform. Crime and policing ranked as the number one issue for voters on both sides of the aisle and across much of the state, and there is strong support for common-sense reforms, which prove concerns won't be appeased by knee-jerk reactions to crime. Among the poll's most interesting findings: 96% of Republicans want to see independent oversight of jails. James Finn covered more at the Advocate this week. 

“If home confinement is working, adults in custody should be able to continue reconnecting with their families and rebuilding their lives.”

The DOJ took a critical step towards providing certainty for people who have been on home confinement since the early days of the Coronavirus pandemic, issuing a final rule on how the Bureau of Prisons should move forward when the federal health emergency ends. The department and bureau have both said that thousands of people who have successfully transitioned from prison to their homes will be able to remain there for the remainder of their sentences unless they break the rules of their confinement. Advocates and experts, including JAN’s federal team, continue to monitor the situation due to potentially vague language included in the final rule. 
 
“Until you fight the Devil, you don’t know what substance use disorder is about.” 

According to a 2021 report, fentanyl was found in nearly three-quarters of overdose deaths in Kentucky. Now, the state is the latest to take a common-sense, evidence-based approach to quelling the drug's impact on Kentucky families. Under a newly signed law, fentanyl test strips will be legal in the state and people will not be charged if strips in their possession have fentanyl residue on them. The Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet will also run an education campaign on the new law. 
 
“Family court judges may face enormous pressure to grant civil protective orders—and no incentive to deny them.” 

For three decades, people subject to restraining orders aimed at preventing domestic violence have had their second amendment rights removed due to boilerplate language, not based on credible evidence that the respondent poses a danger. But does a restraining order alone prove that someone is dangerous and should therefore have their Second Amendment rights deprived? The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit said no. The Biden administration is asking the Supreme Court to overturn that decision. 

“Public defenders are among the best-situated resources available to people in crisis.”
 
Earlier this month, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro proposed a $10 million investment in Pennsylvania's public defenders. If the state follows through, it would bring them in line with all 49 other states in the nation, which provides some kind of state-level funding for public defense for people who cannot afford a lawyer of their own. Chief defender at the Defender Association of Philadelphia, Keisha Hudson, writes that it's a good start, but not nearly enough to truly bring justice for the state's indigent defendants. 

Lauren Krisai

As Deputy Director, Lauren focuses on the Justice Action Network’s expanding state work.