According to the Vera Institute of Justice, the United States imprisons more people than any other nation. In fact, according to The Sentencing Project, over two million people sit in U.S. prisons and other areas of confinement. This number represents a 500% increase since 1972. However, mandatory minimum prison stays and longer sentences do not match violent crime rates. Let's take a look at how criminal lawyers are working to reduce inmate populations.

Fairness and Proportionality

Criminal lawyers and policymakers question racial- and gender-based disparities in confinement rates and sentence lengths. For example, many argue that inmates incarcerated for marijuana possession should have their sentences overturned in states where recreational marijuana use is now legal. Similarly, women incarcerated under "failure to protect" laws receive far longer sentences than the abuser when a child in the household suffers harm. It is nuanced occurrences like these that criminal lawyers argue are unfair and should be reevaluated to create a fairer justice system.

Sentencing and Innocence

The Sentencing Project and the Innocence Project seek fair, reasonable prosecution and sentencing. Unfortunately, the justice system permits shoddy evidence, perjury, eyewitness misidentification, false confessions and admissions, and over-stated forensics. Ending this injustice can only be achieved by reforming laws that disproportionately affect the poor and people of color.

Perjury Unindicted

The recent refusal of a Mississippi grand jury to indict Carolyn Bryant Donham for lying under oath provides a serious example of a justice system based on perjury. Donham accused Emmitt Till of grabbing her and making obscene comments. Decades later, she admitted to lying about the incident that had resulted in Till's death. Despite her alleged admission, Carolyn Donham will not suffer any consequences. Situations like these are important to be discussed so justice can be served even if decades have passed since the incident.

Exoneration

Many innocent people, including many people of color, are accused of crimes they did not commit. Criminal defense lawyers seek to defend these cases in which it's clear that the defendant should be allowed to walk free, given that they did nothing wrong. That said, the current legal system was built in a way that targets people of color. It's well deserved when an innocent man like Sullivan Walter is found innocent after spending 36 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. The future of criminal defense aims to prevent occurrences like this from happening again and to get the convictions correct the first time around.

Contact criminal lawyers at Hollander & Hanuka Attorneys At Law today if you think your conviction was wrongful or unfair. Allow them to examine your case and work with you to prove your innocence. We look forward to representing you.