Humane Justice - "Humane, Restorative, Equal Justice for All"

Note: Please consider this website and the reform plan as a draft and provide comments or propose additions/ deletions by: email Fisher@WeThePeopleNow.org, Fax 703-521-0849 or phone 703-725-7849. Thanks.

Greetings:

Thanks you for interest in HumaneJustice.org.

This web site provides an outline of the Executive Summary of the non-partisan Proposed Plan to Reform Criminal Justice and Prisons Using Humane, Constitutional and Restorative Justice Principles and Practices and its Table of Contents from which any part of this plan can be accessed.

This plan is a key element of the Common, Universal Strategic Plan for a Peaceful, Prosperous, Just World outlined on www.WeThePeopleNow.org and item # 23 of its Common Agenda For the First 100 days of the 113th Congress.

Draft
Plan to Reform Criminal Justice and Prisons Using Humane, Constitutional and Restorative Justice Principles and Practices

Outline of the Executive Summary

Numerous studies, books and articles describe the deplorable conditions in our prisons and criminal justice system.

In his proposed National Criminal Justice Commission Act, introduced in March 2009, Senator Jim Webb described America's criminal justice system ... as a national disgrace with irregularities and inequities that cut against the notion that we are a society founded on fundamental fairness. Prisons with massive overcrowding, even as our neighborhoods have become more dangerous ... wasting billions of dollars and diminishing millions of lives. We need to fix the system. Doing so will require a major nationwide recalculation of who goes to prison and for how long and of how we address the long-term consequences of incarceration

Senator Webb reintroduced this Act in 2010 and 2011. It was blocked by 43 Senators voting against closure in October 2011.

If and when it is enacted, it will be months before the Commission forms, eighteen months before the commission makes recommendations and many more months, probably years, before the recommendations are acted on. The severe problems in criminal justice and prisons cannot wait.

Many organization and individuals have worked on this for years and collectively know what needs to be done. For example, Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE), has outlined just about everything that need to be done on their web site at http://curenational.org, ACLU has a National Prison Project. There are scores of Restorative Justice Programs and anti-death penalty organizations.

However, these organizations and individuals are not working nearly well enough together and have had no overall strategy or plan until now.

This Plan:

• Provides a draft proposed comprehensive plan to revamp, reform and improve all aspects of America's criminal justice and prisons, using constitutional, humane and restorative justice, and reconciliation, rehabilitation and modern psychology principles and practices, to hold perpetrators of crimes accountable and to rehabilitate and restore both victims and perpetrators of crimes.

• Supplies a framework, for those interested, to list additional problems and solutions and work with others to accomplish the solutions.

• Addresses correcting the underlying causes of criminal behavior, in particular lack of a normal family, lack of employment and education opportunities, poverty, hopelessness and despair. By accomplishing it in coordination with and as a vital part of the Universal, Common Strategic Plan for a Peaceful, Prosperous, Just World,, activists will have more choices of items to work on and necessary resources can more easily be found and better shared.

• Addresses misconceptions about crimes and punishment. Neither Alfred Adler nor Clarence Darrow believed corporal punishment or any other form of punishment worked. Of course there should be consequences for criminal behavior.

• Provides procedures, principles and practices for the Plan to Humanely and Privately Prosecute Lawbreakers with Restorative Justice Opportunities for Both Victims and Lawbreakers which is item number 23 of the Common Agenda.

These interested organizations and individuals are requested to work together, form an oversight board for this plan and add everything that needs to be done to it. Recommendations can be made and items added by emailing Fisher@wethepeoplenow.org or faxing 703-521-0849.

If Senator Webb’s Act is passed and the Criminal Justice Commission Act is formed, this plan can be provided to the Commission, for use at least as a starting point.

Most aspects of the entire Justice System must be revamped, reformed and improved. Criminal Justice and Prisons has been given first priority because of its horrendous, unjust impact on so many lives and because of the need for a reformed justice system to humanely and privately prosecute lawbreakers

The below Table of Contents provides an outline of this plan. Each item in the plan can be accessed by clicking on it.