Presidential Candidate Questionnaire on Criminal Justice Reform
Mayor Pete Buttigieg
1. Candidates unanimously agree on the need for justice reform. What is your primary reason forsupporting 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. See below.
These are all reasons we need criminal justice reform. We can’t choose just one, and these reasons indeed are interconnected. Our criminal legal system is inefficient, costly, disproportionately punishes people of color and people with low incomes, and does not serve public safety.
Experts agree that far too many people are locked up unnecessarily. As a result, the United States has thehighest incarceration rate in the world. In some cases, incarceration actually leads to an increase in crime. It’s not just a matter of making sure fewer people are sent to prison and decarceration; we alsoneed to invest in social services to allow people to rehabilitate and expand access to diversion programsto keep people out of prison in the first place. We need better ways to address crime and poverty, both inthe criminal justice system and in society.
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. __________________________
Our criminal justice system needs fundamental, systemic reform, not one issue at a time. The reforms need to address all of the injustices. This includes eliminating mandatory minimums, incentivizing statesto reform their own systems, greatly minimizing the number of people under supervised release, eliminating incarceration for drug possession and greatly reducing the sentence lengths for other drugcrimes, increasing alternatives to incarceration, ending privateprisons, supporting prosecutors and policewho take a more holistic view toward justice and reducing incarceration, increasing early release, andremoving barriers to reentry.
3. What is the first executive action that you would take as President? (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. __________________________
I will immediately establish an independent clemency office outside of the Department of Justice, end thefederal use of private prisons, appoint U.S. Sentencing Commission members who believe in reducing our level of incarceration, ensuring proper oversight of our prisons, and encourage reforms over the entirecriminal justice system that will dramatically reduce the number of people incarcerated.
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. __________________________
At every level of the criminal justice system–from over-policing, to over-prosecution, to
over-sentencing, to conditions while incarcerated, to reintegration upon release–Black Americans are subject to systemic racism. To excise the injustices of racism from this system, we must address everystage of the criminal process, recognize the ways they interact with each other, and invest in social programs to mitigate the harmful effects. These are all critical steps and are interconnected, so focusingon just one issue is not enough. We must ensure less contact with an over-reaching criminal justice system, end exploitative prosecution practices, eradicate bias in sentencing, and create more equitable opportunities for release. Once people are released from incarceration, we must ensure they are free toreintegrate into society and have the support to do so.
5. It is critical that the President and Congress continue to act on criminal justice reform to establishnational leadership on the issue. However, 86 percent of the national prison population is under thecontrol of states. Most states have already acted to reduce their populations. What is the first step youwould 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 abusetreatment.
e. Increase funding for local public defense systems.
f. Other. __________________________
My plan includes doubling the funding for federal grants for states that commit to meaningful reform and prioritize funding for programs aimed at pretrial reforms, decarceration, and expansion of alternative toincarceration (ATI) programs. These grants will allow states to reduce their incarcerated populations while investing in programs that make communities safer, including drug rehabilitation, affordable housing, behavioral health treatment, and subsidized transportation. My plan also triples funding for technical assistance and training efforts. Such incentives will help states reform their systems, while grant requirements will hold states accountable to follow through.
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. __________________________
As President, I am committed to ensuring that our criminal legal system is fair and promotes justice.This requires a number of comprehensive reforms, including ensuring that people who are incarcerated have access to meaningful resources--employment, education, and health care, in particular--and are able to fully participate in civil society after they are released. This includes opportunities to easily expunge and seal records and automatically reinstate voting rights. In order to meaningfully anddramatically reform our criminal legal system, all of these initiatives are necessary simultaneously.
7. A November 2018 Washington Post investigation found large scale obstruction by the JusticeDepartment in implementing the First Step Act. As President, how will you ensure that the First StepAct is faithfully and fully implemented? (Please select one)
a. Ensure the Bureau of Prisons receives requisite funding to implement and expand therecidivism-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 placedinto recidivism-reduction programming.
d. Other. __________________________
We need to commit to implementing the First Step Act, which means fully funding it and improving theprocesses through which individuals can benefit from this piece of legislation. This also includes properoversight over the agencies responsible for its implementation.
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. __________________________
Urgent legislation is needed on a number of criminal justice reforms. We need to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences entirely, allow for Pell Grant and Medicaid access for people who are incarcerated, and to improve formerly incarcerated people’s ability to participate in society, which means banning the box as well as providing opportunities for expungement and employment upon release from incarceration.
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 ordrug 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. __________________________
Our criminal legal system is rooted in racism, and the disenfranchisement of Black and Latino Americans has perpetuated inequality and lack of access to resources. It is no accident that thecriminal legal system has been used to disenfranchise millions of people of color. I am with Desmond Meade and the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition on focusing my efforts on re-enfranchisement upon release, not contingent on the payment of any fines and fees. I support aholistic approach to reducing the number of people who are incarcerated beyond what justice requires, and to providing better opportunities for those who are incarcerated to re-engage withcivil society when they are released, and to me part of that re-engagement is the restoration ofvoting rights.
10. Please provide one example of a bipartisan effort you have engaged in to advance justice reform. (Please limit to 250 words)
As Mayor, I advanced many initiatives in the city, some of which required support from the City
Council and the Board of Public Safety, both of which are bipartisan. These initiatives included: passing‘Ban the Box’, creating a South Bend Police Department Transparency Hub, requiring officers to undergosensitivity training and use body cameras, expanding the South Bend Group Violence Interventioninitiative to address gun violence, introducing a South Bend My Brother’s Keeper initiative, creating a municipal ID program to help undocumented immigrants access services, and,and establishing a YouthTask Force for high school students.
11. How would you work to build a bipartisan consensus to move the broadest possible justice reformpackage across the finish line? (Please limit to 250 words)
There is already bipartisan consensus for criminal justice reform. All legislation will require workingtogether. We will bring people in, build consensus and momentum, including working with communities,organizations and local officials to get legislation passed. We need our democracy to work, this is why democratic reform is critical to my agenda. The best way to enact this is to eliminate the barriers to democracy, such as the filibuster, that prevents the will of the majority from being enacted.