The billions of dollars in federal grants which flow from Washington DC to state prisons and police forces exacerbate the policing and prison crisis, encouraging more arrests, more aggressive prosecution, and unnecessary incarceration. The United States has less than 5% of the world’s population, but nearly 25% of its prisoners. Beyond the cruelty of our penal systems, mass incarceration contributes significantly to the American poverty rate, destroys the futures of its victims, and accelerates the cycles of violence it’s supposed to prevent.
IN CONGRESS, I WILL WORK TO
- End all federal subsidies contributing to mass incarceration, demilitarize the police, and abolish the death penalty.
- Fully fund community-led violence intervention programs nationwide.
- Legalize Recreational Marijuana and expunge all marijuana convictions, and fully decriminalize sex work.
- End sentencing, prosecutorial, and pre-trial practices that compound the cruelty of our justice system such as, mandatory minimums, cash bail, and coercive plea-bargaining.
- Restore voting rights to all Americans including those currently incarcerated and ensure folks leaving the prison system have the support and resources to reintegrate into their communities and the economy.
