Issue Position: Criminal Justice Reform

Issue Position

I support the findings and recommendations of the Arkansas ACLU's Blueprint for Smart Justice Report which include that in 2018, 17,972 people were imprisoned in Arkansas. Between 2012 and 2017, Arkansas had the fastest growing prison population in the nation. In 2018, Arkansas' state prison population was expected to increase by 9% between 2018 and 2028.

According to the Report, imprisonment in Arkansas has a disproportionate impact on Black communities. In 2017, the Black adult prison rate was four times as high as the white adult imprisonment rate. Despite accounting for only 15 percent of the state's adult population, Black people accounted for 42% of the prison population in 2017.

Mass incarceration, in large part, is a consequence of our failed policies like the War on Drugs, inadequacies in our education system, and a failed system to support reentry into communities after a prisoner has served his/her time. This is a problem that we can fix if we have the political will.

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