FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 20, 2025

CONTACT: media@vera.org

In response to today’s inauguration ceremonies and the transition of power from Joseph Biden to Donald Trump as the 47th President of the United States, Nicholas Turner, president and director of the Vera Institute of Justice and president of Vera Action, issued the following statement:

“Today, President Biden leaves the White House with the unique distinction of having granted more than 4,000 clemencies and pardons—the most of any modern president in United States history. Donald Trump is also making history as the first president to take office with a felony record.

“As a nation, we have made real progress on criminal justice reform in the past fifteen years. The number of people incarcerated in jails and prisons has declined from its peak of 2.3 million by 17 percent to 1.9 million today. At least $377 million in federal pandemic recovery funds has supported hundreds of community violence intervention programs across the country and contributed to driving down the homicide rate to pre-pandemic levels. Criminal justice reform remains one of the rare issues that continues to draw bipartisan consensus and durable support from Americans across the political spectrum. Evidence and experience demonstrate that we can have both safety and justice—there is no false choice between one or the other.

“The recent uptick in ‘tough-on-crime’ rhetoric and fearmongering threatens to undo progress and stall momentum on criminal justice reform. Since 1961, the Vera Institute of Justice has piloted, tested, and scaled the solutions that work to end mass incarceration, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe, thriving communities. Under a second Trump administration, that mission does not change. As President Trump begins his second term in the White House, we will remain ready and vigilant if and when the administration tries to implement tough-on-crime policies—like a national “stop and frisk” mandate or interference with the discretion of local prosecutors—in a way that undermines our values or violates the law. If President Trump’s own encounters with the legal system inspire him to take action to reduce the number of people behind bars and invest in meaningful criminal justice reform, we will applaud those efforts while holding him accountable for the policies and actions that criminalize, stigmatize, and threaten the well-being of our communities.

“The work of criminal justice reform does not begin and end in Washington. The vast majority of people arrested, prosecuted, incarcerated, and on supervision are under state and local control. No matter who is in the White House, Vera remains committed—as it always has been—to working with state and local champions for criminal justice reform across the political spectrum to advance solutions that deliver both safety and justice.”

About Vera Institute of Justice:

The Vera Institute of Justice is powered by hundreds of advocates, researchers, and policy experts working to transform the criminal legal and immigration systems until they’re fair for all. Founded in 1961 to advocate for alternatives to money bail in New York City, Vera is now a national organization that partners with impacted communities and government leaders for change. We develop just, antiracist solutions so that money doesn’t determine freedom; fewer people are in jails, prisons, and immigration detention; and everyone is treated with dignity. Vera’s headquarters is in Brooklyn, New York, with offices in Washington, DC, New Orleans, and Los Angeles. For more information, visit vera.org.

About Vera Action:

Vera Action is an independent 501(c)(4) organization and the advocacy partner of the Vera Institute of Justice. At Vera Action, we harness the power of advocacy, lobbying, and political strategy to end mass incarceration, protect immigrants’ rights, restore dignity to people behind bars, and build safe and thriving communities.