By prioritizing punishment as a public safety strategy, the United States has created dangerous prisons that harm the people who live and work in them. Eighty-five percent of corrections officers report having seen someone seriously injured or killed in the workplace, and conditions are worsening as prisons struggle to keep enough staff to operate safely.

“It is time for our country to pay attention to what happens behind the walls,” reads a joint statement from One Voice Uniting Corrections, an organization representing corrections officers, and Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), an organization representing the families of incarcerated people. "We are in the midst of a profound crisis in our nation’s correctional system. Prisons across the country are dangerously understaffed, overcrowded, and plagued by rapidly deteriorating conditions.”

As staffing in U.S. prisons reaches its lowest numbers in decades, incarcerated people are not receiving timely medical treatment and extended lockdowns are becoming the norm. In short-staffed prisons, people are confined to their cells for 23 hours a day, with no opportunities for growth, education, or even exercise. This is no way to prepare them for a healthy return home.

The prison staffing crisis presents an opportunity to really think about the limited utility of prisons and move away from carceral punishment as a default. One Voice Uniting Corrections and FAMM jointly call for leaders to explore ways to “reduce the high demand on our prison system through mechanisms designed to safely release individuals whose sentence is no longer necessary to protect and promote public safety.”

The number of people behind bars has dropped significantly from mass incarceration’s peak, yet far too many people who simply don’t need to be there languish in prisons. States should use the levers at their disposal to decrease prison populations and prevent more people from entering prisons in the first place.

Second-look legislation

Unnecessarily long sentences do not foster public safety. Second-look reforms enable courts to reevaluate sentences to determine if their length is still necessary and in the interests of justice. People who are unlikely to threaten public safety may be eligible for reduced sentences. Such legislation can help address the harms of overly harsh sentences imposed during the failed “War on Drugs” and the “tough-on-crime” era.

In Michigan, state legislators are considering a bill that would allow courts to reevaluate sentences if a person has served at least 10 years in prison and resentencing is in the interest of justice, taking into account factors including public safety, the person’s efforts to participate in educational, therapeutic, and vocational opportunities, and the views of relevant survivors of the crime. Given the ongoing staffing crisis at Michigan’s prisons, this bill—supported by 76 percent of Michigan voters—could help reduce the prison population by creating a new, vital, and safe opportunity for release.

Parole for older people

As a result of draconian sentencing practices, prisons hold many people who were sent there decades ago and now, as older adults, are highly unlikely to commit future crimes. Research shows that people generally age out of crime. For example, one analysis found that less than one percent of people older than 65 who were released on parole from New York State prisons in 2018 returned to prison for a new conviction within three years of their release.

There is no reason to incarcerate aging people who are unlikely to cause harm. In New York, legislators are considering legislation to provide incarcerated people 55 and older a chance at parole. More states should find ways to release older people, who are statistically unlikely to commit crimes.

Fair parole practices

Too often, people are denied parole based solely on the nature of the crime for which they were convicted. They are kept in prison because of who they were decades ago, with no acknowledgment of who they are now. Such policies do not account for the possibility of growth. State legislatures should direct parole boards to release people unless they find a current risk that the person would violate the law if released.

Rethink life without parole

Prisons in the United States incarcerate an astounding 83 percent of people worldwide sentenced to life without parole. At least 37 states have permitted this severe sentence for crimes short of homicide. As a result of “habitual offender” and “three-strikes” laws, people with past convictions have been sentenced to die behind bars for minor crimes. People sentenced to life without parole should have the opportunity to demonstrate growth and have their sentences re-examined.

As prison staffing shortages jeopardize the safety of all who live and work in prisons, now is an excellent opportunity for states to rethink how they misuse incarceration. The United States faces a severe staffing crisis in prisons, and it spends money to incarcerate too many people who could safely return to their families and communities. Decreasing prison populations is a critical step toward building a criminal legal system that promotes true public safety.