DC Justice Lab

Federalizing MPD, deploying the National Guard, & intensifying FBI presence in D.C. is blatant federal overreach & a stark reminder of why #DCStatehood is urgent. D.C. deserves local control to invest in what works: community-based solutions, not over-policing. #StatehoodNow

We’re thrilled to welcome Bethany Young back to DC Justice Lab as our Policy Director! 🎉 Join us in celebrating her return and the incredible work ahead. #TeamDCJL #PolicyLeadership

@CleanSlate_Init 🙌🏽 Let's go! All 50 states, and DC!

📣 Did you know D.C. passed a #CleanSlate law in 2022? Thanks to tireless advocates like @dcjusticelab, the Second Chance Amendment Act is now unlocking real #SecondChances for people across the District. 🧠 Learn more in our newest update! cleanslateinitiative.org/updates/steps-…

Thank you, @echoinggreen, for investing $1 million in follow-on funding to Fellow-led organizations! “This funding helps us continue our work while defending against attacks on democracy and the rule of law, in D.C. and beyond.” echoinggreen.org/news/echoing-g…

Black Mayors in Baltimore and Birmingham Drive Historic Drops in Crime via @WashInformer washingtoninformer.com/baltimore-birm… via @WashInformer

DC was among the first jurisdictions to eliminate cash bail in the early 1990s. As states look to our bail statute as the gold standard for improving public safety, it is important to perfect it and take the harmful provisions out. Now is the time to lead.

@CM_McDuffie @CMLewisGeorgeW4 @CMRobertWhiteDC @CMZParker5 @CMFrumin @CCE_for_DC .@CMRobertWhiteDC, @CMLewisGeorgeW4, and @BrianneKNadeau were absolutely right to vote against this measure. We hope that between now and 2026 there will be a hearing in which everyone--including jail residents--can explain why all of the rebuttable presumptions must go.

@CM_McDuffie @CMLewisGeorgeW4 @CMRobertWhiteDC @CMZParker5 @CMFrumin, we want to make sure you saw this report from @CCE_for_DC: cdn.prod.website-files.com/659c0df344c9c8…

Councilmember @CMBrookePinto knows that it FALSE to suggest judges cannot hold people who are accused of violent crime. That authority already exists under 23-1322(a), 1322(b), and 1325(a). @SegravesNBC4, @RebeccaTurcoTV, @maustermuhle code.dccouncil.gov/us/dc/council/…

@CMCharlesAllen @CMWendellFelder @CMFrumin @CMZParker5 @chenderson @DMVBlackLives Thank you @CMLewisGeorgeW4 and @CMRobertWhiteDC for speaking for due process and the rights of those who haven't even been convicted of any crime

Spending time in #pretrialdetention is overwhelmingly negative for defendants and can lead to job loss, homelessness, and loss of child custody uscourts.gov/sites/default/…

At DC Council meeting @BrianneKNadeau tells a heartbreaking story illustrating how pretrial detention can ruin lives of people trying to get on the right path & @CMRobertWhiteDC shares hard data: pretrial detention makes us LESS safe, provokes MORE crime. There's no excuse to keep this in the bill. As a youth advocate- pretrial detention runs backwards from our goals. It's also fundamentally un-American. Take it out. @ChmnMendelson @CMBrookePinto @CMWendellFelder @CMFrumin @charlesallen @AnitaBondsDC @CM_McDuffie

I have so much to share on pretrial detention.