Our Policy Platform

Significant investments must be made into reentry, mentorship, financial literacy, and mental health to put resources directly into the hands of those most impacted by the criminal legal system. Investing in established programs that are led by impacted communities is the only way forward. Do your homework before investing. If you need help identifying organizations and people to invest in, The Uplift will point you in the right direction.

People with criminal legal involvement must have opportunities to be meaningfully engaged at every level where decisions about the criminal legal system are being made. The criminal legal system has been operating unsuccessfully for decades. In order to truly transform this system and make society at large safer, people that are impacted by this system must have equal say in the transformation. The reason being is that these individuals know how these systems work. However, WE know they are not working and that is where your advocacy comes into play.

All people with convictions must have their right to vote automatically restored upon release. People must have the right to participate and have a voice in who shape these laws that impact them and those they love. We, as a collective, must also have a say in creating new legislation and speaking up on legislation that is not working. Excluding 4.6 million people from voting is not acceptable in a Democracy. Check your right to vote here.

All collateral consequences, better known as “permanent punishments,” must be abolished. A person should not face any additional barriers to entering society once they are released into the community. These additional punishments contribute to stigma, devaluation, and dehumanization. Eliminating permanent punishments decreases recidivism and increases public safety.

As long as correctional facilities in the United States exist, they must be restorative and provide opportunities to be a part of the larger community. Recommended ways to bring about these changes are to: (I) Make structural changes to jails/prisons that provide an environment that fosters healing and growth, (II) End solitary confinement do not redefine this as “self segregation,” (III) Provide free communication, (IV) Pay fair wages for labor, (V) Dismantle the “Prison Litigation Reform Act” which ties the hands of the individual behind the wall to report and receive remedy on abuse and/or retaliation, (VI) Avoid the expansion of coercive medical care as alternative to incarceration, (VII) A person exiting jail or prison the should have a full release plan to provide necessary support, including both pre and post-release reentry programing, and (VIII) all records must be immediately sealed upon completion of sentence.

People with criminal legal records must be designated a protected class. People with records are commonly discriminated against in employment, housing, bank accounts, and other opportunities. Employers, landlords, credit check companies, financial lenders, educational institutions, and civic engagement positions should not use bias as a means to exclude, degrade, harass, demote, not promote, subjugate, or withhold opportunities; nor should it be used as a predictor of future behavior. You cannot predict crime, only bias. If, and when this occurs, there should be civil remedies available to alleviate any and all harm suffered. These civil remedies should come in the form of compensatory damages (which cover out-of-pocket costs associated with the discrimination, such as costs to find employment and housing and emotional harm suffered) as well as remedies in the form of punitive damages (for malicious and reckless acts of discrimination).

Frontline criminal justice staff should be fully informed on these individuals’ legal rights to access disability resources and accommodations for the protection of the communities they serve. People who are unaware of the resources they need for themselves will in turn be unable and unaware of how to provide these resources to others. Without access to reasonable accommodations, we all are excessively harmed by the criminal legal system. All staff members must be trained on the provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and must help those impacted by the criminal legal system know their rights and how to access these rights as well.