A New Year for Second Chances

by Matt Kelley · 2009-12-30 22:36:00 -0800
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As 2009 draws to a close, we can look back over a decade of good and bad for American the criminal justice system and our prison policy. But one thing is clear: we're at a moment of great opportunity for reform.

There is more awareness among the American public now than ever before about our failed years of criminal justice policy and the lives and money we've wasted on the drug war, the death penalty and the explosion of the prison state. The system could see change real change in 2010, and a good start would be a stronger Second Chance Act.

Earlier this month, Congress approved a strong appropriations package, including $114 million for prisoner reentry programs. This is a great start, but we can do more.

One goal we should focus on is passage of the Second Chance for Ex-Offenders Act (HR 1529) in 2010. The bill, which would provide a path to expungement for people with federal nonviolent convictions who make an effort at self-improvement, fizzled in committee this year. We can do better in the year ahead.If we don't help former prisoners build new lives, we're locked into the cycle of recidivism that has built the biggest prison system in the world.

Take action here to tell your representatives in Congress that you want to see second chances in 2010.

Image via Pecia!

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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