publications
June 28, 2017
Incarceration Rates in an International Perspective
A nation’s rate of incarceration is the number of people incarcerated as a proportion of its total population. Internationally, there is broad variation in the degree to which nations incarcerate their citizens, with a nearly 40-fold difference between the highest and lowest rates. The incarceration rate is often interpreted as a measurement of the degree of punitiveness in a society, although it is an imperfect measurement.
news
June 26, 2017
Race & Justice News: Police Officers Speak More Respectfully to White Drivers
Police body camera footage shows Oakland police officers speak more respectfully to white drivers than black drivers, Native Americans are three times more likely to be killed by law enforcement than their white counterparts, and more in Race and Justice News.
news
June 23, 2017
Jeff Sessions wants a new war on drugs. It won’t work.
In The Washington Post, David Cole of the ACLU and Marc Mauer explain why Sessions' revival of the drug war will devastate families without reducing crime or solving the drug crisis.
news
June 19, 2017
Sessions is taking us back to the future
Sessions' new "tough on crime" directive will inevitably contribute to a rise in the federal prison population and will be counterproductive to promoting public safety, write Marc Mauer and Kara Gotsch in an op-ed for the San Francisco Daily Journal.
news
June 06, 2017
Disenfranchisement News: In Alabama, thousands more to regain voting rights
Alabama defines which convictions will result in loss of voting rights, Nebraska fails to remove two-year waiting period on voting, and more in the latest Disenfranchisement News.
publications
June 14, 2017
Federal Prisons at a Crossroads
Recently enacted policy changes at the Department of Justice and certain Congressional proposals may jeopardize federal sentencing progress.
news
May 16, 2017
WATCH: Attorney General calls for toughest charges for people in custody
Marc Mauer responds to AG Sessions' decision to end the DOJ's Smart on Crime initiative on CBS News.
news
June 01, 2017
Solitary confinement is widespread and ineffective
Commentary by Juvenile Justice Advocacy Associate Josh Rovner for Inside Sources.
publications
May 24, 2017
U.S. Prison Population Trends 1999-2015: Modest Reductions with Significant Variation
While the majority of states have at least modestly reduced their prison populations in recent years, 16 states have achieved double-digit rates of decline and the federal system has downsized at almost twice the national rate.