According to law 360, these are the top five criminal justice reforms that advocates want under the new Biden Administration during his first 100 days in office: Address COVID-19 in prisons and jails by having more room for social distancing by reducing sentences of low risk prisoners by having prisons identify the prisoners eligible and then offering home confinement; End Mandatory Minimum and Life Sentences on a federal level, and offer states incentives to do so on a state level by tying reforms to federal funding. The areas of concern are the “Three Strikes Law” and mandatory minimum sentences; Expand Decriminalization of Drug Use and eliminate the disparity between sentences related to the possession of crack versus powdered cocaine. Address the problem of drug addiction and abuse in a different way than just locking people up, and reduce lengthy sentences for drug possession for non-violent offenders; More Policing Accountability and Alternatives, including ending qualified immunity and instituting more policing oversight and accountability. Move away from policing the homeless and mentally ill as police are not a one-stop solution to all of society’s ills. Address these problems at their root. Allocate more funding for police departments to hire and train, and connect police with community services to help the homeless and mentally ill.
