Issues
Death Penalty
3350 people in the United States currently are under a death sentence. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, nearly 1100 men, women, children, and mentally ill people have been shot, hanged, asphyxiated, lethally injected, and electrocuted by States and the federal government. (more)
Children in Adult Prison
Across the United States, thousands of children have been sentenced as adults and sent to adult prisons. Over 2200 juveniles nationwide have been sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Children as young as 13 years old have been tried as adults and sentenced to die in prison, typically without any consideration of their age or circumstances of the offense. (more)
Race and Poverty
In America, nearly one out of every three black men in their twenties is in jail or prison, on probation or parole, or otherwise under criminal justice control. Black men are eight times more likely to be incarcerated than white men. Without reform, it is estimated that 40% of the black male population in the State of Alabama will permanently lose the right to vote as the result of a criminal conviction. (more)
Prisons and Sentencing Reform
The United States incarcerates more of its citizens than any other nation in the world. The increase in the jail and prison population from 200,000 to more than 2.2 million in the past 30 years has lead to unprecedented prison overcrowding and put tremendous strain on state budgets. (more)