June 23: A Day of Action for Criminal Justice Reform
Posted: June 17, 2010 10:45 pm
Mark your calendar and get ready to speak up for criminal justice reform next Wednesday, June 23.
The Innocence Project will be asking supporters to call Senate leaders on Wednesday, urging them to support the creation of a national criminal justice reform commission.
A bill pending in the U.S. Senate would form a National Criminal Justice Commission to review and evaluate the country’s sprawling criminal justice system and make recommendations for reform. The bill is sponsored by Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, with more than three dozen co-sponsors from both parties.
The 254 DNA exonerations to date have revealed troubling flaws in our criminal justice system, and the proposed blue-ribbon panel could consider the causes of wrongful convictions and recommend federal measures to address them. And the issues seen in wrongful conviction cases extend throughout the system. From forensic oversight to indigent defense, the commission’s work could lead to reforms that improve public safety and confront the causes of injustice.
Phone numbers and more will be posted here on the morning of June 23 – but sign up for Innocence Project email updates here to get the action alert in your inbox on Wednesday morning.
Let your friends know about next week’s day of action by posting on Facebook and Twitter today.
And read more about the proposed commission below:
Open Congress: S. 714 National Criminal Justice Act
Sen. Jim Webb: National Criminal Justice Commission Act