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How Criminal Justice Systems could be different



Prisoners could become lawyers / be able to get legal education

Prison sentences could not be capped for those dangerous to society

Wrongful convictions could disportionately affect women

Eyewitness identification, custodial interrogation / recording, judge bias, access to post-conviction DNA testing, evidence preservation, public defense funding / quality, plea bargains, and forensic science could improve to prevent wrongful convictions

Wrongful convictions could be overturned by DNA evidence

Postpartum psychosis could be considered in law

Prisons could have language translators

The criminal justice system could be reformed / quicker in Italy

Government legislatures / courts could ensure truth through requiring an oath / punishing perjury

Mexico could improve its police, prison, social welfare / basic income, and justice systems to confront drug cartels

Violence could be disrupted by a civic justice / conflict resolution model

Pretrial detention / waiting periods for prisoners worldwide could be shorter / done differently

Prisoners could be able to defend themselves in courts

Judicial systems could be reformed by better case management technology

The criminal justice system / self-defense could change for survivors of abuse

Interrogation approaches could be ethical, legal, and effective

Different interrogation tactics could be used to prevent false confessions

Restorative justice could be used to help both perpetrators and victims

Prisoners could be able to vote

Prisons could be rehabilitative

Prisoners could not have to pay to stay in jail depending on their income level

Prosecutors and judges could be held accountable for misconduct

Mandatory minimum and three strike sentencing laws could be reformed for nonviolent offenses

Prison labor could be paid more, have labor protections, and prepare people for employment after release

Compensation could be provided to the exonerated

Juvenile detention could be improved to rehabilitate

Government agencies, schools, hospitals, police, universities, foundations, prisons, workplaces, elections, judiciary systems, and nonprofits could collect, publicize, and use citizen feedback

Forensic science could be unreliable

The death penalty could not be used

Solitary confinement in prisons could be limited / abolished

Private prisons could be banned, limited, have increased oversight / incentives to keep people out of prison, and/or turn into nonprofit

Needle exchange programs could be more widely available and legal

Multisystemic Therapy (MST) could help violent and chronic juvenile offenders

Temporary, paid jobs to ex-offenders in peer groups could reduce recidivism

Incarceration could not be treated as "voluntary unemployment" to calculate child support arrears

Employment applications could not ask about criminal history to reduce recidivism

Drug policy and government funds could focus on providing treatment and prevention rather than punishment

Illegal drug users could be sent to treatment centers rather than prisons

Community-based alternatives to prison could be used to lower recidivism rates and prison populations

Nonviolent ex-offenders could have their records expunged under certain conditions

Ex-prisoners could have better access to benefits to decrease recidivism