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Conservatives Try to Co-opt Criminal Justice Reform
Loaded on Oct. 3, 2016
by Matthew Clarke
published in Prison Legal News
October, 2016, page 56
Filed under:
Prison Reform,
Statistics/Trends,
Cost of Prison Systems,
Sentencing,
Good Time,
Collateral consequences of prison.
Location:
United States of America.
After decades of driving prison expansion by espousing tough-on-crime sentencing laws, advocating for policies to lock up criminals and throw away the key, and exploiting the public’s fear of crime, conservative lawmakers have finally discovered criminal justice reform. Like European explorers being met on the beach by throngs of …
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More from this issue:
- Apples-to-Fish: Public and Private Prison Cost Comparisons, by Alex Friedmann
- U.S. Department of Justice Finds Fault with Privatized Federal Prisons, by Christopher Zoukis
- Alabama Public Service Commission Enacts Prison, Jail Phone Reforms, by David Reutter
- Supreme Court: Sixth Amendment Prevents Pretrial Seizure of Untainted Assets, by Derek Gilna
- New York Prisoner Exonerated after Serving 25 Years
- Oregon Federal Court Denies Motion to Dismiss Release Debit Card Suit, by Derek Gilna
- DOJ Gives $179.7 Million to State Law Enforcement in FY 2016 Grant Funding, by Derek Gilna
- Studies Suggest Parental Incarceration is More Damaging to Children than Death of a Parent, by Christopher Zoukis
- Book Review: The Habeas Citebook: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel (2nd Edition), by Christopher Zoukis
- CCA Prison Not Reporting Valley Fever Cases among Hawaii Prisoners
- Merger of Prisoner Transport Companies Delayed after Objections Filed, by Derek Gilna
- Oregon Post-conviction Judgment Violates State Law, by Mark Wilson
- Sixth Circuit Vacates Denial of Qualified Immunity; Each Defendant’s Conduct Must be Individually Evaluated, by Mark Wilson
- U.S. Office of Special Counsel Assists BOP Whistleblowers, by Derek Gilna
- Chicago Police Detective Accused of Brutality Used Similar Techniques at Guantanamo, by Derek Gilna
- Conservatives Try to Co-opt Criminal Justice Reform, by Matthew Clarke
- There is Talk of Prison Reform, but for the 150,000 People in Prison for Life, There is No Reform on the Horizon
- Presidential Candidates’ Current and Past Positions on Criminal Justice Issues, by Joe Watson
- First Unconditional Release from Minnesota’s Sex Offender Program
- Federal Court Finally Ends Oversight at Fulton County Jail, by David Reutter
- Corporations, Colleges and Cities Dump Private Prison Stock, by Joe Watson
- Eleventh Circuit Upholds Alabama DOC Short Hair Policy Following Remand from Supreme Court
- Federal Judge Clears Way for Civil Rights Suit in Oklahoma Jail Death
- Seventh Circuit: Jailhouse Lawyer’s Help No Reason to Deny Appointment of Counsel, by Gary Hunter
- Second Chance Pell Pilot Program Will Bring College to 12,000 Prisoners
- Class-action Suit Filed Against GEO Group for Violation of Job Applicants’ Rights
- Judge Orders End to Recording of Attorney-Client Meetings at CCA’s Leavenworth Detention Center, by Derek Gilna
- South Carolina Sheriff Fires Whistleblower Instead of Jailer Who Assaulted Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
- Third Circuit Reverses Summary Judgment in Restraint Chair Case, by Mark Wilson
- Exonerated Prisoner Appointed to Connecticut’s Parole Board, by Christopher Zoukis
- Los Angeles County Settles Jail Suicide Suit for $1.6 Million
- Federal Civil Procedure Rule 15 is Substantive, Not Chronological in Application
- Drastic Sentence Reduction for Mentally Ill Former Tamms Prisoner, by Matthew Clarke
- Private Medical Contractors in Kentucky Not Entitled to Qualified Immunity
- Wisconsin: Wrongfully Convicted Former Prisoner Receives $6.5 Million
- Ninth Circuit: Congress Can Criminalize Federal Sex Crimes Committed in State Facilities, by Mark Wilson
- Illinois: Exonerated Prisoner Calls $80,000 Award a Travesty, Retrial Ordered, by Gary Hunter
- New Orleans Sheriff Ends Oversight of Electronic Monitoring Program, by David Reutter
- Wisconsin Prison Enters into Consent Decree to Correct Tainted Water, by Derek Gilna
- Oregon Habeas Cognizable to Challenge Confinement in Florida and Colorado under Interstate Compact
- Massachusetts’ Anti-shackling Law Limits Restraints on Pregnant Prisoners but Problems Persist, by Joe Watson
- GEO Group Still Invests in Florida Politics
- From the Editor, by Paul Wright
- News in Brief
More from Matthew Clarke:
- Federal Court Grants HRDC Preliminary Injunction Against Mail Censorship at New Mexico Jail, May 1, 2026
- Faced with Record-Breaking Jail Deaths, L.A. County Supervisors Tell Sheriff’s Department to Improve Access to Naloxone, Camera Monitoring, and Security Checks at California Jail, May 1, 2026
- Federal Court Places Medical Care in Arizona Prisons Under Receivership, May 1, 2026
- Seventh Circuit Upholds Liability but Reverses Damages in Lawsuit Over Illinois Warden and Investigator Using Prisoner as Bait to Catch Staff Member Raping Her, May 1, 2026
- Texas Moves to Restrict Cashless Bond and Reverse Federal Court-Ordered Misdemeanor Bail Reform, May 1, 2026
- In Texas, Harris County Commissioners Approve $1.2 Million for Fourth Study of Jail Since 2020 After Dozens of Abuse Allegations, April 1, 2026
- Texas Attorney General Clarifies Scope of Statute Requiring Outside Agency Investigation of Jail Deaths, April 1, 2026
- D.C. Judge Blocks Transfer of Biden-Commuted Federal Death Row Prisoners to “Supermax,” Citing Lack of Meaningful Due Process, April 1, 2026
- Eighth Circuit Revives Lawsuit Over Iowa Jail Detainee’s Suicide, April 1, 2026
- Groundbreaking Statistical Study of Pregnant Texas Jail Detainees Finds Over 400 Monthly, April 1, 2026
More from these topics:
- New Hampshire Officials Halt $700 Million Prison Replacement, May 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Plumbing, Sanitation, Vermin.
- Pennsylvania Closes Its Second-Oldest Prison, May 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Boot Camps, Plumbing, Reduction of Prison Population.
- Oklahoma DOC Paid Prison Guards $35.5 Million in Overtime in 2025, May 1, 2026. DOC/BOP misconduct, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Staffing, Staff Training.
- Trump Wants $152 Million to Turn Alcatraz Back Into a Prison, May 1, 2026. Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Federal Legislation, Bureau of Prisons (BOP).
- Arrests of Unhoused People Driving Albuquerque Jail Bookings, May 1, 2026. Government Misconduct, Statistics/Trends, Jail Specific, housing, Prior Conviction/Sentence/Incarceration.
- Prison Policy Initiative Updates Its Mass Incarceration Report, May 1, 2026. Geriatric Classification, Statistics/Trends, Cost of Prison Systems, Electronic Monitoring, Effects of Mass Incarceration.
- “Large Fight” Broke Out at Alaska Prison After Downsizing Effort, April 1, 2026. Transfers, Cost of Prison Systems, Totality of Conditions, Failure to Protect (General), Overcrowding.
- Judge Orders Rikers Manager Must Fix Jail in Seven Years Or Less, April 1, 2026. Prison Reform, Totality of Conditions, Jail Specific, Contempt (Civil Procedure), Consent Decrees.
- Analysts Recommend Closing California’s Soledad Prison, April 1, 2026. Private Prisons, Cost of Prison Systems.
- Colorado Governor Tells Lawmakers to Open New Prison, April 1, 2026. Corrections Corporation of America/CoreCivic, Cost of Prison Systems, Revocation Proceedings, Reduction of Prison Population.

