Second Chances, Smarter Justice: A Unified Strategy for Reform

Prepared by: Rodney LaBruce, Candidate for U.S. Congress (TX-30) Unified Advocacy and Leadership Coalition (UALC)

The Case for Youth Reform: Healing Over Hardship

The United States currently leads the world in juvenile incarceration, but the "tough on crime" approach for minors has backfired. Instead of teaching accountability, the current system often acts as a school for career criminality.

The Harms of Juvenile Incarceration

• Mental Health Crises: Incarceration often triggers or worsens PTSD, depression, and anxiety in developing minds.
• The Violence Cycle: Juvenile centers are frequently plagued by violence, exposing youth to trauma that leads to more behavioral issues.
• Educational Death Ends: Missing school while locked up creates a permanent gap that makes future employment nearly impossible.

Proven Alternatives to the Cell

Research shows that community-based interventions reduce recidivism (re-offending) far better than jail.

• Diversion Programs: Redirecting youth to counseling and mentorship instead of court.
• Restorative Justice: Bringing victims and offenders together to repair harm, which builds true empathy and accountability.
• Family-Based Therapy: Programs like Multisystemic Therapy (MST) treat the "whole family" to fix the root causes of delinquency.

Ending the "Adultification" of Children

In recent decades, we’ve started treating children like adults in the courtroom. This shift ignores basic science: the human brain isn't fully developed until the mid-20s.

The Consequences of Adult Prosecution:

1. Harsher, Dangerous Sentences: Kids in adult prisons are at much higher risk for sexual assault and exploitation.
2. Higher Recidivism: Juveniles tried as adults are 34% more likely to be rearrested than those kept in the youth system.
3. Life Sentences by Record: An adult felony record at age 16 creates lifelong barriers to housing and jobs, effectively forcing a return to crime.

Policy Fixes:

• Raise the Age: Move the age of criminal responsibility to 18 nationwide.
• End Automatic Transfers: Stop the laws that automatically "kick" kids into adult court without a judge's review.

Humanizing our Prisons and Reentry

Mass incarceration has cost us trillions without making us significantly safer. We must shift from a system that simply "warehouses" people to one that prepares them to be good neighbors.

1. Fixing the Bail Crisis

Right now, our system has two tiers: one for the rich and one for the poor.

• The Stats: Roughly 70% of people in jail are there awaiting trial, not because they are guilty, but because they can’t afford bail.
• The Cost: This leads to job loss, family breakdowns, and "coerced" guilty pleas just so people can go home. We must replace cash bail with risk-based assessments.

2. Education and Mental Health

• The "43% Rule": Incarcerated individuals who participate in education programs are 43% less likely to return to prison.
• Treatment Over Punishment: We must treat the substance abuse and mental health issues that lead to crime rather than just punishing the symptoms.

Sentencing Reform: Restoring Fairness

Mandatory minimums and "Three-Strikes" laws have stripped judges of their common sense, leading to life sentences for non-violent offenses.

• Racial Disparities: Despite similar rates of drug use, Black men receive sentences that are, on average, 19.1% longer than White men for the same crimes.
• Judicial Discretion: We need to give judges the power to look at the individual person—their background and potential—not just a rigid chart.

The Roadmap Forward: Legislative Action

To build a safer TX-30 and a fairer America, we must support:

1. The First Step Act (Expansion): Bring the reforms of the 2018 law to all levels of the system.
2. Raise the Age Legislation: Ensure no child is treated as an adult.
3. The Less is More Act: Stop sending people back to prison for "technical violations" like missing a meeting because of a bus delay.

Bottom Line: Our justice system should be measured by how many people it restores, not how many it rejects. This is about public safety, fiscal responsibility, and human dignity.