What People Behind Bars Really Think About the ‘Cop vs. Felon’ Election

Whether Kamala Harris or Donald Trump is elected president in a few weeks will form the lives of individuals behind bars simply as certainly as these of individuals exterior. These incarcerated dwell with the implications of legal justice insurance policies on daily basis. The candidates’ insurance policies and pasts loom massive as these behind bars take into account who they’d vote for if they might, and why.

Vice President Harris is a former prosecutor with a sophisticated legacy — marked by “robust on crime” insurance policies throughout her tenure as San Francisco’s district lawyer and California’s lawyer basic, in addition to her efforts to implement reforms resembling job coaching for first-time offenders and looking for accountability from main banks for aggressive foreclosures practices. Former President Trump, in the meantime, has been convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying enterprise data (his sentencing has been delayed till after the November election). However he additionally championed the First Step Act throughout his presidency, which permitted 1000’s of nonviolent federal offenders to go away jail early.

To know how incarcerated persons are fascinated with the 2 candidates, The Marshall Undertaking posed three questions:

Please share your ideas on Kamala Harris and her {qualifications} to be president.
Some information shops have stated the election is between Kamala Harris, a cop, and Donald Trump, a convicted felon. What do you consider this framing?
Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felonies for falsifying enterprise data. Please clarify the way you suppose the previous president needs to be punished for his crimes.

Harris supporters highlighted her {qualifications} and authorized experience as essential for efficient presidential management. However many others had been skeptical that her previous as a prosecutor would immediate her to make the sorts of systemic adjustments they need in a punitive legal justice system.

Many wrote in regards to the stigma of being a “felon,” which frequently overshadows alternatives for private development and redemption. Even when Trump had been to face penalties, fines and probation may be extra appropriate than jail time, a number of stated. This displays a broader want for equity (though a number of respondents insisted that accountability have to be common — nobody needs to be above the legislation).

Respondents critiqued the oversimplified “good man vs. unhealthy man” narrative prevalent in information media protection, calling for deeper conversations in regards to the insurance policies that instantly have an effect on their lives. This mistrust highlighted the political alienation many really feel, as respondents famous how the legal justice system typically fails marginalized communities, and voiced their frustrations with its failures.

In additional than 54,000 responses from individuals in jails and prisons throughout the USA, we discovered a variety of opinions reflecting each open skepticism and guarded hope.

Right here’s a more in-depth have a look at their ideas.

Find out about how The Marshall Undertaking is masking the 2024 election’s legal justice and immigration points throughout the U.S. and in our native information groups’ cities.