NBC News has this new piece discussing, mostly in vague terms, what criminal justice reform might look like under a Biden Administration. The piece is headlined "Biden was pilloried for his criminal justice record. During his presidency, advocates expect change," and here are excerpts:
Experts told NBC News that now as both political parties appear to have common ground on the issue and significant steps have been made over the past decade, a Biden administration needs to make criminal justice reform more than a talking point.
“The chief cornerstone has already been laid, the groundwork has already been done, the foundation has already been built. The only thing that he has to go in and do is continue to capitalize off of the momentum,” said Louis L. Reed, the director of organizing and partnerships at #Cut50, a bipartisan criminal justice reform nonprofit. “Biden needs to hit the ground running on legislation and executive action.”
The Biden transition team did not respond to a request for comment on their plans. But as a presidential candidate, he proposed sweeping reforms, including ending private prisons, cash bail, and mandatory-minimum sentencing. He has also been a vocal opponent of the death penalty and police reform. He has floated, for example, tying federal funds given to police departments to diversity initiatives and community policing, among other areas — rebuffing calls from progressive activists to defund police departments....
Biden’s legislative hopes also hinge on the Democrats winning the majority in the Senate in January. He has promised a flurry of executive orders on Day 1 in the White House to unwind a number of Trump administration policies and may opt to continue doing so if Republicans obstruct his legislative efforts. But the effectiveness of executive orders can be limited when it comes to criminal justice reform, which would not affect state and local prisons.
Tackling police reform will be an especially delicate issue after a year in which the deaths of Black Americans at the hands of law enforcement prompted worldwide protests and national reckoning. Balancing the concerns of police officers and progressive activists looking to slash their budgets and re-imagining policing is one illustration experts say will be one of the hurdles he could face. Biden during the campaign rejected calls to defund the police, angering some progressive activists. At the same time, he also lost support from police unions, who largely supported Trump.
Adam Gelb, the founder of the Council on Criminal Justice, a bipartisan criminal justice nonprofit, is a former Senate Judiciary staffer who worked with Biden on the 1994 crime bill. He said that he believes Biden’s promise to be a coalition builder is genuine but that he may not be fully prepared to restructure the nation’s sprawling criminal justice system.
“I don't think he sees crime control and justice as a zero-sum game, but will focus on policies that can produce win-wins,” he said, adding that Biden and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris recognize that "many of the policies of the 80s and 90s overshot the mark, and are now way out of step with public sentiment, as well as research about what actually works."...
Gelb said he believes Biden understands that there are social inequalities but does not fully grasp the extent to which the system itself is the root of the problem. "My sense is that he understands that the criminal justice system is deeply flawed and needs to be fixed, but that he sees the system as a source of solutions, not a fundamental cause of the problems,” he said. “And that means a balanced strengthening of the systems of enforcement, and prevention, and treatment, and corrections, and the courts."
A few of many prior related posts:
- Notable criminal justice reform recommendations from Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force
- Can we be hopeful federal leaders will make deals to advance federal criminal justice reforms in the next Congress?
- Tomorrow can be today for some Biden-Sanders Unity Task Force criminal justice recommendations
- Reviewing Criminal Justice Unity Task Force Recommendations: a new series to welcome a new President
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