Elizabeth Warren's Criminal Justice Plan Eliminates the 1994 Crime Bill

Warren's plan, described in a new Medium post, would decriminalize marijuana and repeal large sections of the 1994 crime bill, the most enduring product of the "hardening of crime" era. Warren also lays out specific breaks with the Trump administration, including a promise to end the directive from the Department of Justice, which requires federal prosecutors to seek a maximum prison sentence.

Despite his rise in polls, Warren has struggled in most investigations to make comparable breakthroughs with African-American voters. His criminal justice proposal, echoing previous plans, highlights the disproportionate rates that minority communities have experienced in the current system. Warren is also seeking to merge political proposals with his economic populist message, stating at the top of his message: "It's not an equal justice when a child with an ounce of jar can be thrown into jail, while that a bank executive who launders money for a drug cartel can get a bonus. "

The plan includes a series of steps that would change the balance of power on the streets, at trial and among inmates seeking a new day in court. Important parts of the proposal would require legislative action, but Warren also talks about using his Department of Justice to influence policing tactics and reduce jail time.

"Policies such as repeated checks and" broken windows "have trampled the constitutional rights of countless Americans – especially those in black and brown communities – without any measurable impact on violent crime," she wrote. , stating that it will end "stop-and-frisk" by denying federal funds to the police services that still use it.

The language echoes what Warren preached during the election campaign and at a CNN public meeting in April, when she said: "Our criminal justice system is down, and the race is at the heart of this problem, and we must deal with it head-on. "

More money would be invested in strengthening the offices of public defenders and in the development or revitalization of programs dedicated to strengthening these offices, she writes. Warren would also support two new initiatives: a commission to recommend new measures to limit prosecution abuse and another to identify wrongdoing.

The proposal recalls a number of previous political activities. In his effort to "decriminalize mental health crises", Warren is referring to "Health Insurance for All" and his promise of "continued access" to the care of the mentally ill. The goal, she writes, is to reduce potentially dangerous interactions between the police and those requiring medical assistance.

Warren also points to her affordable housing plan, which she says would create more than 3 million new housing units and cut costs by 10 per cent at a cost of $ 500 billion over 10 years. By keeping families in their homes and reducing homelessness in childhood, says Warren, future generations would be better off avoiding clashes with the criminal justice system.

Another proposal, different from the one adopted by the current government, is that Warren's proposal would triple funding for the Civil Rights Bureau and, contrary to current Department of Justice guidelines, seek to reinstate the use of consent judgment investigations. the Department of Justice had previously exercised. President Barack Obama often asserted the influence of the federal government on police services acting in violation of constitutional norms.

In his call to end the death penalty, Warren notes his personal opposition and cites statistics showing that it is "often applied in a biased manner towards people of color and people suffering from mental illness. ".

"A Warren administration would overturn the decision of Attorney General Barr to carry out federal executions," she wrote, urging Congress to ban it legally.

The plan would take some power away from the Justice Department, removing it from the process that governs presidential pardon and offers of clemency. Warren argues that "the hierarchical process within the DOJ gives few conservative recommendations on clemency", and proposes to create an independent board with direct access to the White House.

Under the proposal, this commission would be required to give priority to those who could have benefited from the First Step Act, a bipartisan bill on criminal justice reform passed in late 2018; those currently imprisoned "under outdated or discriminatory drug laws"; and others who are currently serving mandatory minimum sentences that could be reduced in the future.

Warren's proposal would take additional steps to provide "special protections" for some prisoners, such as the at-risk transgender population, and guarantee what she describes as "basic human rights standards" – in particular by putting an end to solitary confinement.