Justice:
Fix Our Broken Criminal Justice System

“America has the laws and the material resources it takes to ensure justice for all its people. What it lacks is the heart, the humanity.”
— U.S. Representative Shirley Chisholm

The Issue

Justice and safety should never be opposing forces. America's strength lies in the collective spirit of its people, and every individual, regardless of their background, deserves a chance at redemption, progress, and growth. True justice must be rooted in love, understanding, and community. The path to real public safety requires us to address our systems that perpetuate inequality and injustice.

What I’ve Done So Far

As a legislator, I have worked to reform our policies and to rebuild trust between our residents and law enforcement. I have sponsored successful legislation to reform the Police Department's use of force policy, to mandate independent investigations and public reporting following any police-involved death, to mandate community-informed police training for officers and recruits, and to remove school resource officers from our public schools. This experience locally will inform my work on the Federal level to create safer, more inclusive communities.

What I Will Do in the Senate

  • As we saw in the summer of 2020, there is a strong appetite across the nation to address the deep and painful systemic inequalities that the Black community faces at the hands of the police. Democrats introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act to do just that, but it was blocked by Republicans who refused progress. We must continue fighting for the bill and the crucial reforms that it would bring.

  • For decades, the War on Drugs has not only failed in its objectives but has disproportionately affected communities of color, tearing families apart and perpetuating cycles of poverty and disenfranchisement. Possession of drugs is often a pretext for police discrimination and subsequent brutality – and it must end. President Biden made big steps last year to modernize America’s laws on marijuana, but he did not go far enough. It’s time to get real; we must follow Maryland’s lead and legalize marijuana nationwide.

  • Violence isn't born overnight; it's the culmination of systemic issues ranging from poverty, lack of education, and limited access to basic services. To truly ensure public safety, we must delve deep, understanding and addressing these root causes. This means bolstering mental health services, increasing educational opportunities, and ensuring every community has access to necessities. By healing from the ground up, we're creating a society where safety and prosperity go hand in hand.

  • The very essence of justice gets tainted when profit enters the equation. Prisons run for profit often prioritize cost-cutting over rehabilitation, perpetuating a cycle of recidivism. Our focus should be on restorative justice, on giving individuals the tools and opportunities to reintegrate into society as productive, valued members. By ending the privatization of prisons, we're sending a clear message: every individual's future, dignity, and potential is worth far more than any corporate bottom line.

  • The death penalty is a relic of a previous era. It is overly brutal, has been historically used disproportionately against the Black community, and fails to account for instances of later-discovered innocence.