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What Joe Biden’s Election Means for the Future of Criminal Justice

In light Joe Biden’s apparent election to serve as the 46th president of the United States, the Marshall Project has published a detailed review of President-Elect Biden’s criminal justice platform, which the Marshall Project notes was “quietly” the “most progressive criminal justice platform of any majority party candidate in generations.”

Joe Biden will likely be presiding over a divided government in Congress, depending on the results of the Georgia Senate race run-offs. That said, criminal justice remains popular across both parties, as reflected in passage of the First Step Act, and even modest reforms in some areas will change thousands of lives.

The Marshall Project explores several aspects of the Biden agenda on criminal justice, which includes:

  • Police Reform, such as banning no-knock raids and chokeholds, using federal funding as an incentive, and setting a national “use of force” standard
  • Juvenile Justice, such as by reinvesting in preventive programs, expanding record expungement, prohibiting juveniles from being incarcerated in adult facilities, and limiting the use of police officers in school to monitor children
  • The Death Penalty, including a possible moratorium
  • Bail Reform, such as reducing or limiting cash bail
  • Mandatory Minimums, including reducing or outright repealing certain mandatory minimum sentences or creating additional “safety valve” laws
  • Clemency, either by pardon or commutation
  • Eliminating Private Prisons
  • Immigration Detention Reform
  • Reducing the Prison Population

Click here to read the article from the Marshall Project.

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