The Political Dynamics of Justice Reform in The U.S.

confinement in jails and prisons, paying inmates a living wage for work they do in prison
and legalizing supervised injection sites for intravenous drug use.
Until recently, such ideas were considered so radical in the United States that they
would have been immediately dismissed even among reform-minded lawmakers. But
they are now being instituted or seriously considered in cities and states across the
nation.
Experts say the changing debate reflects a seismic shift in how the American public
views criminal justice issues.
“This is a conversation that is unrecognizable from 10 years ago — even five years ago
— when these kinds of proposals wouldn’t have been floated in back rooms, let alone in
public,” said Adam Gelb, president of the Council on Criminal Justice, a nonpartisan
research organization.
This week, the leading progressives in the Democratic field elevated some of those
ideas in the presidential race.
Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts became the latest Democratic contender to
release a criminal justice plan on Tuesday, and like other candidates, she called for
releasing more people from prison early, eliminating private prisons and strengthening
oversight of the police.
Two days earlier, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont introduced his own plan, which in
some respects went even further. He called for banning the use of facial recognition
software by police departments, raising the age of adult criminal liability to 18 and
allowing certain areas to be set aside where people could legally inject intravenous
drugs.
Criminal justice is just one of the areas in which the Democratic presidential candidates
have moved leftward in the proposals they are advocating in the primary race. In the
policy debate over subjects like immigration, health care and gun control, the shift has
been unmistakable.
Democratic candidates have expressed support for providing comprehensive health
coverage to undocumented immigrants and for decriminalizing illegal border crossings.
A growing number of candidates support a national licensing system for gun owners.
And the debate over health care has revolved around whether to move to a “Medicare
for all” system that would eliminate private health insurance, an idea backed by Mr.
Sanders and Ms. Warren.
But the unapologetically progressive ideas being pushed by Democratic candidates are
certain to be used by President Trump and his allies to tar whoever becomes the
Democratic nominee. Mr. Trump has already accused Democrats of being the “party of
crime” because of their views on illegal immigration.
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