Justice For All Packet
Along with our partners at the Arkansas Justice Reform Coalition, we have identified six strategic priorities to help fight the expansion of the carceral state and shrink the prison industrial complex.
Act 539 (The Fair Sentencing of Minors Act of 2017) protects people younger than 18 years old who have committed a serious crime from being sentenced to death or life without parole. This ammendment would simply extends the age age limit of individuals impacted by Act 539 to protect people up to the age of 21 years old.
This bill would eliminate cash bail for misdemeanor charges and put in place a system where misdemeanor charges are cited electronically or written with information on court appearance details. This law would also require that cash or money bail in any form is considered only a last resort to ensure the defendant’s appearance in court except in cases of compelling circumstances.
Eliminates fines and fees for most youth court,, with an emphasis of accountability through other means including family and youth programs and services. Today, Arkansas law authorizes officials to charge families of young people involved in the justice system for costs and services like diversion and treatment services probation and supervision, detention or placement, legal representation. Because a percentage of the youth are not old enough to gain employment or have access to transportation to a job, these fines & fees become a financial burden to the parents.
Solitary confinement is considered torture under international law. Currently, very little is know about the Arkansas Department of Correction's use of this abusive practice. We will work to address this lack of transparency by mandating ADC track and make this data publicly available.
The Constitution of the State of Arkansas allows for slavery and involuntary servitude as punishment for a crime. This loophole allows slavery to persist, perpetuates systemic racism and is used to justify forced prison labor. By eliminating this exception we can finally abolish slavery in all its forms. This step is crucial to changing a criminal legal system that disproportionately impacts marginalized communities.
The current reach of law is excessive in terms of criminalizing otherwise innocent conduct by carrying what are everyday items if an officer believes that you may ingest drugs with an item like a dollar bill. This bill would reduce the charge of drug paraphernalia from a felony to a misdemeanor in the first 3 instances with the 4th becoming a felony.