SMART SENTENCING AND DIVERSION
A justice system built only on punishment creates repeat cycles of crime, poverty, and incarceration. Smart sentencing and diversion programs focus on outcomes — reducing reoffending, focusing prison space on truly dangerous individuals, and giving people real pathways out of the system.
THE PROBLEM
Too many nonviolent offenders — especially those struggling with addiction, mental health, or poverty — are given costly prison sentences instead of targeted interventions. These sentences do little to improve public safety and often increase the likelihood of future crimes by destabilizing families, employment, and housing.
Meanwhile, our prisons are overcrowded with people who pose little risk but cost taxpayers thousands per month, while truly violent offenders still fall through the cracks.
OUR PLAN FOR REAL OUTCOMES
We will shift from a punishment-first model to a safety-and-stability model:
Diversion First Policies — For nonviolent offenses, courts must consider treatment, counseling, or community service before incarceration.
Specialty Courts (Mental Health, Veterans, Treatment) — Expand targeted courts that focus on healing over warehousing.
Record Clearance Pathways — Allow individuals who complete diversion programs or remain offense-free to clear low-level records and access work and housing.
Performance-Based Sentencing Reviews — If someone is making measurable progress (education, employment, treatment), sentencing can be reduced through judicial review.
Community Reintegration Support — Case management and reentry planning begin at sentencing, not after release.
WHY IT MATTERS
Diversion programs cost a fraction of incarceration and produce safer communities. When individuals return with stability rather than trauma, crime goes down, families stay together, and taxpayers save money that can be reinvested in schools, housing, and treatment — not cells.
“Prison should be for people we’re afraid of — not for people we’re just mad at.”