ADVOCACY AND POLICY
Working to End Excessive Sentences and Create Pathways for Hope
Working to End Excessive Sentences and Create Pathways for Hope
ADVOCACY AND POLICY
Because we provide representation and legal support to individuals serving excessive sentences , we bring unique insights to advance efforts at policy change. We collaborate with other groups to provide concrete suggestions for reforms which will yield on-the-ground change and help ensure that already-enacted policies are implemented to the fullest extent possible.
Expanding Mechanisms for Relief from Excessive Sentences
Colorado’s state prison population has grown from 2,658 individuals in 1980 to approximately 16,000 individuals today. This sky-high prison population is due not only to excessive sentencing on the front end, but also because back-end mechanisms for release have been neglected. We work with allies to support fair and inclusive legislation that will provide more incarcerated people with second chances and result in meaningful decarceration.
Monitoring Implementation of New Policies
Achieving necessary changes in criminal legal policy is often just the first step. Once changes are enacted, we work to monitor and test the implementation of the new policies to ensure they are functioning as intended.