Criminal Justice Reform

Reproductive Justice includes the right to live and raise our families free from state-sanctioned violence. For Black women, girls, and gender-expansive individuals, the constant threat of police violence is an ongoing reality and source of profound stress. This threat impacts our reproductive decision-making, parenting, and overall health and well-being.

Black people are killed by the police at a rate more than twice that of white people, and Black women, girls, and gender-expansive people are more likely to experience rape and sexual assault at the hands of law enforcement.Yet, Black women who are victimized by police violence often receive less media attention, and less responsive public empathy and action, compared to white women.
One case where public outrage-met the moment is that of Breonna Taylor, in Louisville, KY. On March 13th, 2020, Taylor, a 26-year-old emergency medical worker, was murdered by police officers who kicked in her apartment door in the middle of the night and began shooting during a botched no-knock raid. Taylor’s tragic death sparked a wave of protests nationwide to Say Her Name, honor her legacy, and hold the legal system accountable for this type of lethal state-sanctioned violence.

Two months later, on May 25th, 2020, protests erupted again in the aftermath of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN. Floyd, a father and fiancé, was handcuffed on the ground for allegedly using a counterfeit $20 bill. Officer Derek Chauvin of the Minneapolis Police Department knelt on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, watched by three other officers, as Floyd begged for his life, called out for his mother, lost consciousness, and died.

Taylor and Floyd’s deaths are part of a pattern of violence towards Black people in America. This violence stems from a long-standing culture of racially-biased over-policing and excessive use of police force with little or no accountability on the part of police, or legal recourse for their victims.

In 2022 alone, police killed 1,238 people; Black individuals are almost three times more likely (2/9) to be shot, compared to white individuals.189 Further, Black individuals are also more likely to be over-policed in their own communities and schools, harmed by the institutional and familial impacts of mass incarceration, and disadvantaged by a racially-biased criminal legal system.

Despite our commitment to caring for humanity, the very government for whom we place our lives on the line, time and again, has shown us that Black lives have never mattered—as is evidenced by the police killings of unarmed Black men and women, such as George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Elijah McClain, and far too many others to name. Data from the databases of Mapping Police Violence and The Washington Post show that police killed at least one Black woman or man each week in 2020 alone. The peaceful protests regarding these deaths were met with “brute force, …cracked skulls and mass arrest”191 and additional violence from the former presidential administration and from police departments.

The year 2020 brought increased awareness to police violence against the Black community as people across the nation stayed at home to protect themselves from the pandemic and were often glued to their screens. However, these issues existed long before 2020—they were first born during the era of the Fugitive Slave Act in the 19th century. Further, these issues have persisted since. Since our nation’s supposed “racial reckoning” in response to the terror of 2020, our society appears to be shifting too easily back to the status quo of violence against Black bodies.

Black people are killed by the police at a rate more than twice that of white people, and Black women, girls, and gender- expansive people are more likely to experience rape and sexual assault at the hands of law enforcement.

Policy Recommendations

Almost three years since the murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Tony McDade, and too many others, we are still watching our community be profiled, policed, brutalized, and murdered at the hands of law enforcement including immigration officials. Black Lives Matter and Black Futures Matter—enough is enough . Policy change at the federal level is urgently needed to set more equitable federal standards on police use of force.

In addition, federal action is needed to protect Black communities from unjustified violence enacted by the state and the pain it causes for Black parents, children, and communities . This includes investing in community-based (i .e ., non-police) responses to emergency calls, when appropriate, and prioritizing community-led (vs . policy-led) approaches to fostering safety . Instead of expanding police budgets, Congress should fund training for trauma-informed professionals as first-responders and recruiting leaders from communities that have been the most impacted by police violence to work in these deescalation roles.

• Pass the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act
Introduced in 2021 by Representative Karen Bass (D-CA), the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act would increase accountability in state and local law enforcement and create a national registry to track complaints of misconduct on the part of police.

• Pass the BREATHE Act
The BREATHE Act is a visionary model law that would radically reimagine public safety, community care, and how money is spent by our society. It was introduced in 2020 by Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Rashida Tlaib (D-MI). It includes four simple ideas: (1) Divest federal resources from incarceration and policing; (2) Invest in new, non-punitive, non-carceral approaches to community safety that lead states to shrink their criminal-legal systems and center the protection of Black lives—including Black women, mothers, and trans people; (3) Allocate new money to build healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities; and (4) Hold political leaders to their promises and enhance the self-determination of all Black communities.

• Establish federal standards for Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion Programs
Congress should ensure that federal standards for Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) programs are non-violent; deescalatory; and informed by, and responsive to, communities that have been the most impacted by the police excessive and lethal use of force.

• Pass legislation to address extreme use of force and militarization in local police forces
Legislation like the Police Exercising Absolute Care with Everyone (PEACE) Act would change the federal standard for law enforcement officers’ use of force and require use of force as a last resort. It would also mandate that officers use de-escalation practices rather than force whenever possible. It was first introduced in 2019 by Ro Khanna (D-CA).

Legislation like the Stop Militarization of Law Enforcement Act would prohibit the transfer of military-grade equipment from the federal government to state and local law enforcement agencies. It was first introduced in 2015 by Rand Paul (R-KY) and Brian Schatz (D-HI).

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