Federal Prison Reform Becomes Law

While the measure has been hailed as a positive step toward reform, some have called it too modest and criticized its controversial use of risk assessment instruments, which may perpetuate racial disparities in the criminal justice system.^[]See for example Vera Institute of Justice, “Statement from the Vera Institute of Justice on the FIRST STEP Act,” press release (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, December 17, 2018); American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “ACLU Praises Senate Passage of FIRST STEP Act,” ACLU, December 18, 2018; Tim Lau, “Historic Criminal Justice Reform Legislation Signed into Law,” Brennan Center for Justice, December 21, 2018; and Kara Gotsch, “Commentary: Progress on Justice Reform Closer,” The Sentencing Project, December 19, 2018. Also see German Lopez, “The First Step Act, Congress’s Criminal Justice Reform Bill, Explained,” Vox, December 11, 2018. Life behind bars remains grim, and people in prison called attention to their conditions of confinement this year with a nationwide strike that spotlighted, among other things, the exploitation of incarcerated people for cheap labor and uneven access to rehabilitative and educational programming.^[]Jailhouse Lawyers Speak, “National Prison Strike August 21st-September 9th, 2018,” press release, August 2018; and Vauhini Vara, “The Viral Success of a Strike No One Can See,” Atlantic, August 30, 2018. And the landscape of mass incarceration remains complex: while the prison population nationally declined slightly between 2016 and 2017, it remains at near-historic highs—and varies by place: 30 states decarcerated, while the other 20 increased their prison populations.^[]Oliver Hinds, Jacob Kang-Brown, and Olive Lu, People in Prison 2017 (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2017).

There was positive news. Hundreds graduated from college in prison programs under the Second Chance Pell pilot initiative.^[]Vera Institute of Justice, Second Chance Pell Experimental Sites Initiative Update (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2018). States across the country passed legislation improving prison conditions for women, and Massachusetts enacted a sweeping criminal justice reform bill that includes provisions for compassionate release and restrictions on the use of solitary confinement.^[]“Virginia Law Requiring Jails to Supply Tampons, Pads Passes,” Associated Press, April 26, 2018; Massachusetts SB 2371 (2018); and Massachusetts HB 4012 (2018). But substandard health care made headlines in Arizona, and corrections systems elsewhere restricted access to books.^[]ACLU, “Parsons v. Ryan,” 2018; and Danielle Corcione, “How the State, Prisons, and Guards Keep Books from Incarcerated People,” Teen Vogue, December 14, 2018. There is a movement for change.^[]Patrik Jonsson, “Amid Debate on Prison Reform, Rising Voices from the Inside,” Christian Science Monitor, September 10, 2018.^[] The Vera Institute of Justice (Vera), published Reimagining Prison in October, which makes the case for a fundamental overhaul of the nation’s prison system—one that would move away from the current emphasis on retribution and punishment and toward practices rooted in human dignity.^[] Ruth Delaney, Ram Subramanian, Alison Shames, and Nicholas Turner, Reimagining Prison (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, 2018). This vision is becoming a reality in a few places, as more correctional institutions joined Vera’s Restoring Promise initiative this year to transform the conditions of confinement for young people.^[]See Nyssa Cruse, “New DOC Program Seeks to Support Young Women Leaving Prison,” Hartford Courant, July 18, 2018; and Vera Institute of Justice, “Groundbreaking Young Adult Prison Reform Initiative to Expand to South Carolina,” press release (New York: Vera Institute of Justice, January 17, 2018). Also see Maurice Chammah, “Opinion: To Help Young Women in Prison, Try Dignity,” New York Times, October 9, 2018.