Insights on Creating Change in our Criminal Justice System
Posted by Lindsay Jensen, December 11, 2020
“Five executions are scheduled before President-elect Joe Biden's 20 January inauguration - breaking with an 130-year-old precedent of pausing executions amid a presidential transition.
And if all five take place, Mr Trump will be the country's most prolific execution president in more than a century, overseeing the executions of 13 death row inmates since July of this year.” (BBC News, By Holly Honderich)
As we observed Human Rights Day yesterday, our hearts were heavy with the news of Brandon Bernard’s execution. Judges and others who were engaged with Brandon’s case all said the same thing - he should not be executed. He had spent the greater part of his time behind bars working to better himself and become a new person. That is, afterall, supposed to be the point of prison, right?
In a system that disproportionately impacts Black and Brown community members, capital punishment cannot be the answer. We must do better as a country. And, to find ways of addressing the systemic racism and punitive thinking that has undergirded our system. What we’ve got going on right now has not led to better outcomes for our communities.
These executions have left me feeling angry. I am struggling not to pick fights with people who support what’s happening. Or, to shake others into seeing what I see - the humanity of those experiencing incarceration. But, I know that digging my heels in and going down a rabbit hole of angry thoughts will not lead to the change I hope for our country.
Don’t get me wrong, I do not want to be a pacifist about social justice. Nor will I accept anything other than equality for all. However, understanding the root of my thoughts and feelings has given me more space to step back when I’m feeling like I currently do, and approach conversations around systemic change from a deeper place of love and understanding.
It’s days like this that I believe even more deeply in the work of The Insight Alliance and of our partner organizations. I think it was our friends at One Solution who said, “Global change starts internally.” Meaning, when people see their inner well-being and understand the nature of thought, they have more room to bring creative and compassionate solutions to the table.
As we gear up for 2021, I look forward to bringing my creative and compassionate ideas to the table to do better for our country.