Prison Reform Taking Root
June 28, 2016
6/25/16 – The largest county in Mississippi has agreed to a first-of-its-kind settlement with the federal government to reduce mass incarceration by offering alternatives to jail, providing re-entry services for inmates leaving incarceration, and sentencing fewer people to jail for failure to pay court-ordered fines and fees, among other actions. The agreement reflects recent discussions in Issues on how to apply lessons from the latest research to reduce mass incarceration, help the large number of people already in the criminal justice system successfully reenter society, and alleviate the unique effects of mass incarceration on communities of color.