Dear Friends, the following position was unanimously adopted on
September 3, 2012, during the board meeting of International CURE
which was held in Washington, DC. Charlie Sullivan, Executive Director
CURE's Expectations for a Justice system
Because we believe that…
• No one deserves to be measured only by the worst thing she or he
has ever done.
• Everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and have his or her
human rights preserved.
• Justice systems should be restorative rather than retributive.
• There is no way to create a perfectly safe world. Expecting that
of our justice systems leads to policies that are counterproductive.
• Detention must be justified by a legitimate public safety concern.
• Those who are incarcerated should have all of the resources they
need to turn their lives around.
• No one should be incarcerated for his or her immigration status.
• National and international human rights documents provide a sound
basis for ensuring that justice systems meet these goals.
• The politics of fear should not be allowed to influence sentencing
practices or parole policies.
• All efforts should be made to depoliticize justice system offices.
• Drug use should be decriminalized and treated as a public health
issue.
• All juvenile cases should be handled in the juvenile system that
is geared toward rehabilitation and education rather than incarceration.
We therefore believe that the following practices should define our
justice systems with respect to…
ADJUDICATION:
Anyone accused of a crime shall be represented by an attorney who has
the qualifications, resources, and time to thoroughly explore the
circumstances surrounding the crime and advocate for the defendant. This is true whether the crime is considered violent or nonviolent and whether it is resolved by trial or plea agreement.
The justice system shall understand and consider the individual’s
background and accomplishments, as well as the mitigating circumstances of the crime as thoroughly as they understand and consider the aggravating circumstances.
No plea agreement shall occur without negotiations that are done with
an engaged and competent attorney, in a manner that does not result in harm to any
other defendant, and includes the judge.
Anyone who refuses to negotiate a plea agreement and is subsequently
tried and convicted shall not be sentenced to a longer term than was offered in
negotiations.
The defendant shall not appear in court in shackles, restraints, or
jail “uniform.”
Any action that results in the deprivation of an individual’s
liberty shall be decided based only upon the beyond a reasonable doubt standard.
There shall be no loss of voting rights as a result of a criminal
conviction.
The criminal prosecution system shall consider evidence of someone’s
innocence, regardless of when that evidence becomes available and whether or not
the court process or representation was flawed.
SENTENCING:
We shall not incarcerate persons who are mentally ill.
We shall not incarcerate persons who are developmentally disabled.
Juveniles shall never be housed in adult facilities.
There shall be no death penalty.
No one shall be sentenced to life without parole.
There shall be no mandatory sentences, since they prevent adequate
consideration of aggravating and mitigating circumstances.
We shall utilize non-incarcerative sanctions whenever possible. Those
include, but are not limited to:
• Restitution
• Forfeiture of all gains from economic crimes
• Therapeutic solutions
• Restorative/transformative justice and Alternative restorative
justice programs shall be provided to an individual .
• Community service
• Fines and fees based only upon one’s ability to pay.
No one shall be sentenced to a prison term unless it will serve a
greater purpose than
incapacitation.
The minimum sentence for any offense shall be only long enough to
complete an appropriate, well-defined, treatment and training program.
Programming shall be provided in a timely manner.
Time added for aggravating circumstances shall not exceed the sentence
for the basic crime.
We shall not give significant weight to prior criminal history when
crafting a sentence, without considering the probability that recidivism represents a
failure of the justice system.
Felony murder statutes shall be eliminated.
All mandatory minimums shall be abolished.
The cost of the sentence shall be identified at the time of
sentencing.
TREATMENT OF THE INCARCERATED:
The Prison Litigation Reform Act shall be eliminated.
Persons who are incarcerated shall have access to earned benefits
(e.g. retiree health insurance, veterans health care, veteran’s educational benefits,
etc.) in cases where the department of corrections cannot or will not provide comparable services.
No one shall be subject to long-term restraints (greater than 4 hours)
unless authorized and monitored by a medical doctor.
Individuals shall be provided timely and appropriate health care. No
fees shall be charged for health care.
Persons entering the system shall be evaluated to determine their
educational, psychological, and social needs. Every effort shall be made to address
those needs while the individual is incarcerated.
No one shall be held for a lengthy period in a facility (e.g. jail)
that provides very limited programs and services.
No person shall be held in isolation for a nonviolent infraction.
No person shall be held in isolation for a total of more than four
hours for a violent infraction.
There shall be mechanisms to prevent overcrowding, since that
contributes to inhumane treatment.
No one shall be shackled or restrained during labor or if it will
interfere with the delivery of medical care.
Every effort shall be made to compensate for lack of education that
may have contributed to a person’s criminal behavior. GED classes shall be standard and provided free by the state to all prisoners without a diploma or GED. Aptitude testing and vocational training shall be provided to ensure job readiness upon release.
Individuals who are incarcerated shall be able to access Pell grants
and other similar aid programs to facilitate their pursuit of a college education.
Programs, policies, and tools shall ensure that individuals are able
to maintain their social networks through fair and friendly telephone, surface mail, email, and visitation services, including private family visits. Restrictions shall be imposed only if needed to protect specific victim(s). Family members in the free world shall be able to visit any and all incarcerated family members. Subject to security screening, there shall be no limit to the number of persons on a visiting list or call list. At the very least, persons who are indigent shall be provided with postage and writing materials to facilitate contact by
surface mail and at least one call per month to family or friends.
While incarcerated, individuals shall be given responsibilities and
decision-making opportunities. Every opportunity shall be made to utilize the talents
of those who are incarcerated. Those opportunities may be in the form of facility
operation and maintenance, tutoring one another, or providing public services. Where it is possible for an individual to gain certification in an area of expertise that shall be encouraged. Those who are incarcerated shall receive adequate compensation for the work they perform.
Persons shall be paid a minimum wage with a portion going to fines,
fees, child support,victim restitution, and savings for use upon release. To the degree possible, community
service programs shall be available for interested persons.
The United State shall ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention
Against Torture
(OPCAT), and shall set up a mechanism that will operate to prevent
abuse and torture in the country’s confinement facilities.
No person who is incarcerated shall have administrative, disciplinary,
or supervisory power over others who are incarcerated.
There shall be no involuntary interstate transfers.
Housing shall be by consent.
RELEASE OF THE INCARCERATED:
Regardless of the length of sentence, individuals shall be released if
they become permanently physically incapacitated and are no longer a risk to the
community.
There shall be a presumption of parole at the earliest release date.
Release decisions shall be based upon validated, dynamic risk assessments and performance (including therapy) while incarcerated. The nature of the offense of conviction and criminal history shall not be a factor other than the impact they may have on the outcome of a risk assessment.
Lack of programming staff shall not be used as rationale to delay
release. Based upon validated risk assessment results, persons who have not completed programming through no fault of their own shall be released to the community where they shall receive community treatment and monitoring to ensure their successful re-entry.
Everyone past his or her minimum release date shall have an
opportunity for release annually.
No one shall be denied release because of a pending appeal or for lack
of a home placement. If the individual is not able to live with family members,
adequate housing shall be provided outside of the prison system.
No fee shall be charged by the state for probation or parole services.
This is the responsibility of the state government.
Licensing restrictions shall be imposed only if there is a strong
correlation between the crime(s) committed and the activity being licensed.
Anyone released from a prison shall have access to a re-entry program
for assistance with housing, transportation, job searching, health care, and other needs.
Incarceration shall not be extended through mechanisms such as civil
commitment, lifetime parole, or home confinement. No individual shall be subject
to residency restrictions.
Community supervision, in the form of probation, parole, pre registration shall be imposed only if a dynamic risk assessment indicates it is warranted. Persons
shall be listed on police registries only if they screen high risk on a dynamic risk
instrument. There shall be no public registry.
Social security, veteran’s benefits, pension payments, etc. shall be
available to the person leaving the prison system.
All persons leaving prison shall have their birth certificate, social
security card, and state ID card.
