State Advocacy Update: Strategies for Sentencing Reform for Long-Term Prisoners
(From The Sentencing Project)
Strategies to address mass incarceration will also need to incorporate approaches to revising policies affecting those serving long sentences, including life sentences with and without parole. A significant amount of political will and support is needed to create the atmosphere that makes reform possible. Advocates are working to actively build that will through a variety of strategies that include research, media advocacy, and administrative/executive reform.
Research – In recent years, The Sentencing Project has published reports with state specific data that documents increases in the number of individuals serving long prison terms. At the state level, Michigan’s Citizens Alliance on Prisons & Public Spending (CAPPS) published two reports that recommend reforms to the parole process for persons serving parole eligible prison terms. And last year, the Massachusetts’ Coalition for Effective Public Safety released a white paper on that state’s parole policy. Prioritizing a strategy of state specific research can help advocacy campaigns develop a reform narrative and identify a range of state specific policy goals around which to organize.
Research has also focused on rates of recidivism among persons sentenced for serious offenses. A 2011 California-based study tracked 860 people convicted of homicide and sentenced to life, all of whom were paroled beginning in 1995. Longitudinal analysis of their outcomes finds that in the years since their release, only five individuals (less than 1%) have been returned to prison or jail because of new felonies. And New York advocates have focused on low rates of recidivism for older prisoners, with the hope that such tactics will create the political will to address release rates among incarcerated elders.
Media – Much of the work to move long term sentencing reform is focused on creating the atmosphere in which officials concerned with their next election cycle can act. That reality has led advocates to prioritize media strategies that move a public safety narrative and emphasize a broad coalition of support. In Michigan, CAPPS organized a statement in support of parole reform that has been endorsed by more than two dozen former corrections officials. The tactic is a part of an overall action plan to identify voices from key legislative districts.
Prioritizing a rapid response strategy can also be helpful in maintaining momentum for long term sentencing reform. The ability of elected officials to be moved can be challenged when there are high profile cases of paroled persons committing a new offense. Countering that narrative can require the use of limited capacity, but can be helpful negating the ability of individual acts to undermine the need for policy change. Last year, following the tragic murder of Colorado Department of Corrections official, Tom Clements, the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition placed an op-ed co-authored by the libertarian think tank, the Independence Institute. The op-ed championed sentencing reforms implemented during the Clements administration and encouraged lawmakers to move forward in rethinking criminal justice policies.
Administrative/Executive – Moving sentencing reform for long-term prisoners through a state’s legislative process can be difficult. As a result, some state campaigns have organized around modifying the parole review process, with the target of such efforts being the executive or parole board members. Wisconsin’s WISDOM, a grassroots coalition of more than 150 faith-based organizations, has targeted Gov. Scott Walker to direct the state’s Department of Corrections and its Parole Commission to change its practices in considering parole eligible prisoners sentenced before 2000 for release. The campaign’s analysis determined that an unknown number of Wisconsin prisoners remain behind bars longer than their sentencing judges envisioned because practices among the state’s parole board have decreased the rate of release for parole eligible long timers. In California, changes in practice by Gov. Jerry Brown have led to an increase in the rate of release among parole eligible lifers. While former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger approved 27% of parole eligible lifers for release, Gov. Brown’s approval rate is 82%.
Additionally, the recent request from the federal Department of Justice to the defense bar to ramp up submissions for clemency petitions may inspire a new strategy for state reforms where governors have similar authority. Advocates interested in pursuing such an approach may be encouraged by the leadership of former Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich who established a clinic on clemency matters at the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. One of the clinic’s priorities is to hold workshops for newly elected governors and their staff.
KENTUCKY’s League of Women Voters issued an analysis on the amendments to the state’s voting rights measure; the changes are estimated to deny rights restoration for 100,000 persons. â— MISSISSIPPI ‘s NAACP raised concerns about a provision in a comprehensive criminal justice measure that would expand the category of violent offenses to include burglary of a dwelling. â— MISSOURI lawmakers advanced legislation that modifies the lifetime federal ban on food stamps for persons with felony drug convictions.
