Issue Position: Criminal Justice Reform

Issue Position

Arkansas also faces a broken criminal justice system. African-Americans only make up 17% of Arkansas' population; However they make up 42% of our prison population. These staggering numbers highlight the explicit racial disparities in our criminal justice system. It's time that we face and reduce the biases in our system and work toward more legislation that reduces crime and recidivism rates. Through supporting legislation that lifts harsh judgments on non-violent offenders and programs that prepare all offenders for reentry, we can keep people off the streets and contributing to making Arkansas a better place. Jamie will introduce legislation that reexamines the expungement process to make it more accessible for those who have served their time. We should focus on getting people back to work and transitioning them to become productive members of society, not erecting barriers to their next step.

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