In the year since President Donald Trump vowed to put a stop to an epidemic of "American carnage," his administration has made sweeping changes to the Department of Justice's policies. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has chipped away at President Barack Obama's justice reform efforts, cutting back on federal oversight of police departments and reversing course on mandatory minimums, marijuana policy, and private prisons.
The changes could send federal prison populations climbing again. And while federal prisons hold fewer incarcerated Americans than state prisons or jails, the return to more punitive federal policies could have a cooling effect on state and local efforts for criminal justice reform—something few Americans want to see happen in their local jails, according to a new survey from the MacArthur Foundation.
Some 11 million people cycle through the nation's 3,200 jails every year, the vast majority of them not yet convicted of a crime. Over 60 percent of people in jails have yet to face trial; some are considered by a judge to be dangerous or a flight risk, others simply can't afford bail. Those locked up while awaiting trial often lose their jobs and housing. Research also shows that they are more likely to ultimately be convicted than those who make cash bail.
[For more on this story by KATE WHEELING, go to https://psmag.com/social-justi...ice-system-is-unfair]
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