Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) on Wednesday reintroduced a resolution aimed at driving decarceration and making the criminal legal system more equitable and just.
The People’s Justice Guarantee, first introduced in 2019, is being put forward again by Pressley at a time when the Democratic-led Congress seems ready to acknowledge and address the intersections of racial justice and criminal justice.
“In this moment, we have an opportunity and responsibility to pursue bold, structural reforms that shift resources away from institutions that perpetuate brutality and injustice and invest in solutions that promote community safety and center the dignity and humanity of all people,” Pressley said in a statement to The Root ahead of the reintroduction of the resolution. “Creating a just legal system is a matter of political will—plain and simple—and it’s time we demonstrate the courage necessary to make it a reality.”
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The comprehensive resolution came about through a “people’s process,” informed by conversations with activists, advocates and individuals impacted by the carceral state, says the Congresswoman’s office. The People’s Justice Guarantee lays out a framework for addressing issues of overcriminalization of communities of color, and the corresponding issues of police violence and mass incarceration that Pressley accurately taps as being informed by what she described as “policy violence.”
“Growing up with an incarcerated parent, these failures are personal to me,” said Pressley in the House on Wednesday when reintroducing the resolution.
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