Revolutionizing Justice: A Shift from Fast-food Approaches

In the 1990s, a trend that was dubbed as the ‘Fast-food approach to justice’ took root. This was ushered in by increasing concern about widespread criminal activities, pushing governments to enact laws that took away some measure of flexibility the justice system previously extended to singular defendants. The establishment of regulations like ‘three offenses and you’re dealt with’ sought to curb perceived leniency towards repetitive offenders.

Subsequently, the United States saw a drastic increase in its prison population, noticeably surpassing its predictions, while anticipated surges of violent absconders fell significantly short. In contrast, general crime estimates tumbled to new lows. By the middle of the 2010s, a non-partisan consensus was reached acknowledging that incarceration had gone beyond manageable limits, thus encouraging backing for procedures designed to handle the thorny issue of possible excessive imprisonment.

In the summer season, came an informative examination of the outcomes of one such innovative approach that originated from an unexpected quarter: the prosecutors themselves. In the year 2018, California pioneered the enactment of the country’s foremost prosecutor-driven resentencing legislation. The demand for downsizing the exceedingly inflated American prison populace was intensifying, however, prosecutors — burdened with numerous historical cases with excessive punishment durations — were increasingly being alienated from debates regarding suggested amendments.

A certain individual, with experience as a prosecutor, opened dialogues with contemporaries throughout California, leading to the composition of a legislation allowing them to suggest cases where milder sentencing would suffice. This individual established an entity known as ‘For the People’ as a platform to advocate and facilitate the implementation of such legislation. By the year 2023, similar laws had been enacted in four other states and a count by ‘For the People’ approximated the number of resentenced individuals at around 1,000.

However, it was noted that sparsely few of those resentenced were women. In several counties across California, anyone convicted of violent crimes was dismissed from consideration for resentencing, irrespective of the contexts. Regulations such as these unintentionally disqualified women and missed out on certain extenuating factors.

Research, it was discovered, suggested that women convicted of violent crimes often held lesser roles in crimes predominantly conducted by men, who were in many cases, abusive towards them. In some instances, these abusers became victims of these crimes themselves.

Recently, there has been an amplified effort to understand the specific narratives of individual transgressors. Effectual from the first of July, Georgia’s judges are legally obliged to evaluate the circumstances where a history of exploitation might have instigated an offender’s criminal activities.

Similar to California’s prosecutor-induced resentencing legislation, Georgia’s renewed standard has bipartisan endorsement. This law acquired the acceptance of the Georgia State Assembly, facing opposition from a mere three out of the total 236 lawmakers.

One lawyer from the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence remarked that this level of approval signifies a changing perspective. Even in scenarios of severe violence, an examination of individual narratives can expose the societal determinants that contribute to unlawful deeds.

In 2023, a case study which provides a unique perception into the labours of mitigation professionals was made public. These individuals work relentlessly to comprehend the histories of defendants facing capital punishment penalties.

The explored case was a specific one managed by a mitigation professional. The contributions of such experts have been credited for the decline in the number of death sentences across the country, from peaking over 300 per year in the mid-1990s to less than 30 in recent years.

They have often been described as emissaries from a future where society possesses a more intricate understanding of violence. With dedication over the past decades, they have recorded the traumas, political shortcomings, familial factors, and personal choices that collectively sculpt the life journey of individuals who have committed acts of murder.