Our Policy Platform

The criminal justice system is broad and complex. In Georgia, it’s also particularly flawed. There are many aspects that need to be fixed, reformed, or repealed. We seek to build a comprehensive and coalition-backed Georgia criminal justice reform policy platform.

We will continue to collaborate with other organizations to further develop and hone this criminal justice reform policy platform so that, as a state, we can work toward a unified message and effort toward achieving meaningful change.

We are always open to hearing about an issue we may have been unaware of or accidentally overlooked.

Reform Georgia Policy Platform

Ending Cash Bail

Justice outcomes should not be determined by financial means.
On average, 64% of the individuals in Georgia’s county jail system are only being held on pre-trial detention, meaning they haven’t been convicted of a crime and are awaiting their day in court.

Record Expungement Reform

Approximately 4.2 million Georgians have a criminal record. That’s 4 out of 10.
Adults who are convicted have very little ability to have their records restricted and are followed their entire lives.
A new 2020 law has provided some limited options.

End Police Violence

We must rethink systems of policing to put an end to police violence which disproportionately impacts Black Georgians and Georgians of color.

Probation Reform

Nearly 420,000 Georgians are on misdemeanor or felony probation, making it the largest of any state in the US.
High fees and longterm costs are overly burdensome, particularly on lower income individuals, making this a particularly unjust aspect of the probation system in Georgia.
We must end offender-funded probation. Individuals on probation should not have to pay for their own supervision. This creates a financial incentive to keep probation rates high and Georgia now has the largest probation population in the US as a result.
We must seek ways to shrink the probation population and the policies leading to its growth.

No Private Prisons

Prohibit private prisons and detention centers.

All individuals incarcerated or detained by local and state authorities should only be held in a correctional facility that is owned, managed, and operated by the governing jurisdiction.

Menstrual Equity

All women should have free and unlimited access to feminine hygiene and menstrual products while in correctional facilities and detention centers.

Sensible Marijuana Reform

Legalization of adult cannabis use and cultivation for personal use.
Clearance and restriction/expungement of cannabis-related criminal records. Release of individuals serving sentences for actions that will be made legal.
Recognition of medical use and opening of medical applications and research.
Legalization and equitable regulation of hemp industry.
Social equity programs that ensure marginalized communities receive financial benefits from cannabis tax revenue and have access to industry opportunities.

No Cost Communication

Communication should not be kept behind a pay wall.
Phone calls for anyone detained or incarcerated should be free.
The sending and receiving of mail should not incur fees beyond normal postage costs.
Digital communications should be free.

Voting Right Restoration

Georgians should never lose their right to vote and it should be restored to all.
Over 260,000 Georgians are unable to vote due to felony disenfranchisement, and an unknown number are prevented due to legal fines and unclear information.

Fair Wages for Incarcerated Labor

End unpaid incarcerated labor.

Georgia prison jobs pay zero wages. This equates to slavery.
Any prison jobs must be compensated at a rate no lower than the federal minimum wage.

Remove Financial Incentives and End For-Profit Incarceration Policies

Prohibition of third-party contracts that generate financial revenue (e.g. commission) for a public agency.
- Profit-driven structures incentivize contractors to emphasize revenue generation and minimal services.
- This results in lower quality facility operation provided by staff that are undertrained and underpaid in a very difficult and sensitive job, as well as the use of higher fees and surcharges that most severely impact low-income families, especially because wages for prison jobs are nonexistent.
- Commission structures should be prohibited.

Preserving Civil and Human Rights

Solitary confinement for any extended amount of time is internationally recognized as a form of torture and should not be allowed in any facility, public or private, in Georgia on youth or adults.
Civil forfeiture must be much more seriously restricted. Property should not be seized without first having evidence of its involvement in a crime.
Georgians should not lose their right to vote simply because they enter the correctional system. That right should be restored.
Restore access to state programs such as Medicaid for those released from the system.
Prohibit automatic license suspensions and bench warrants for first failure to appear.
Ban the “box” on private employer job applications, with exceptions.

Shutting Down the School to Prison Pipeline

Prohibiting zero-tolerance policies that result in immediate expulsion or referral for arrest for non-violent crime.
All possible alternative approaches should be taken before using physical restraint, force, or confinement on minors.
Restrict the presence of officers in classrooms and their involvement in interpersonal disputes.

Alternative Approaches to Justice

Support and expand the growing use of accountability courts for non-violent crime. This is evidence based policy that has worked and kept people out of the correctional system while helping to rehabilitate and heal communities.
Continue to expand pre-arrest diversion programs.
Support community approaches to restorative justice.

Two-Strike Law

Georgia’s two-strike penalty law is the harshest in the nation. For particularly serious crimes described as the “seven deadly sins”, two convictions mean life behind bars without probation.
This harsh response to such serious offenses is understandable. However, automatic punishments that do not provide any opportunity for change are not great policy.
This is not shown to be an effective deterrent to crime and results in many people who are capable of rehabilitation being unable to ever leave the system and re-enter society.

This Georgia criminal justice reform policy platform is a living document that can be updated as determined appropriate.