Criminal Justice Reform

We Need To Responsibly Fund The Police And Cultivate Positive And Effective Relationships With The Communities They Serve

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Our criminal justice system is broken. We imprison people at a higher rate than any country in the world. The prison population is fueled by a system that criminalizes poverty, sacrifices the bodies of its most vulnerable citizens, and incarcerates people of color at disproportionate levels. While Ty believes serious crimes deserve serious punishments, he also believes in second chances, which is why as a community organizer, he fought for Mississippians to have equal access to the protections of the justice system. 

 

It is morally wrong and makes no economic sense to put up barriers to social re-entry of formerly incarcerated Americans. After serving their time and paying their debt to society, Americans can and should be expected to make contributions to their communities. 

 

And that starts with ensuring that every deserving Mississippian has a second chance to be a positive contributor in our communities. We need to make sure that our prisons actually have the resources necessary to make them places of rehabilitation rather than retribution. It’s obvious that we can’t save everyone and that some people are unwilling or unable to be rehabilitated, but anyone who has committed a crime, but shows that they legitimately want to get educated, learn a trade, get their life back together and on a positive course, and become a contributing member of society upon release should be supported.

 

Ty believes we need to responsibly fund the police and also cultivate positive and effective relationships between police departments and the communities they serve. Ensuring accountability and building trust involves investing appropriate resources into the training of police officers and developing trust relationships with communities rather than stoking the flames of distrust. 

 

As your senator, Ty will fight for criminal justice reform measures that make sense for Mississippi–ensuring that everyone is on an equal playing field such as:

 

• Responsibly funding police–for activities that are sensibly a part of policing communities, not making them into a paramilitary force.

• Cultivating healthy relationships between police and the communities they serve.

• Appointing independent prosecutors to handle police-involved shootings.

• Eliminating the incentives for private corporations to get involved in running prison facilities for profit, with an eye toward phasing them out altogether.