Sentencing Reform
Polls continuously show that the public supports sentencing reform and prefers shorter sentences aimed towards rehabilitation. And there is good reason. Harsh sentences do little to deter crime, but do make it harder for those re-entering society after incarceration to resume or start productive lives.
The Brennan Center seeks to promote rational sentencing approaches by combining qualitative and quantitative research, scholarship, and policy advocacy to address the racially disparate effects of discretionary prosecutorial decisions on sentencing outcomes in the federal system and, through our Community Oriented Defender Network, to promote innovative defender agencies addressing racially disparate sentencing and promoting productive alternatives to incarceration.
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Coalition Releases Criminal Justice Policy Roadmap
More than 20 organizations, including the Brennan Center for Justice, and individuals is pleased to announce the publication of a catalogue of key criminal justice issues and policy recommendations for the next administration and congress.
Nicole M. Austin-Hillery Before Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Testimony given before Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs strongly supports efforts to end disparities between crack and powder cocaine sentencing.
Prosecutorial Discretion and Racial Disparities in Federal Sentencing
From Federal Sentencing Reporter Feb. 2007. No actor tasked with enforcing and ensuring respect for the nation’s laws can ignore concerns about the integrity of a criminal justice system increasingly perceived as reserving its harshest punishments for people of color.
Reaching Through the Prison Walls: Social Work in an Appellate Defender Office
A report on the relationship between social workers and lawyers in criminal defense offices.