Carmen Mitchell

The 2022 General Assembly Passed More Bills Increasing Incarceration Than Decreasing It, and Failed to Make Other Badly Needed Justice Changes

Kentucky has one of the worst rates of incarceration in the country. Two years after a sharp decline in the...

Pretrial Bills in the Kentucky General Assembly Are a Mixed Bag

Kentucky’s pretrial system — which determines whether a person charged with a crime waits for their day in court behind bars or at home — is arbitrary, unfair and rife...

Analysis

While Failing to Address Kentucky’s Overdose Crisis, HB 215 Would Keep People Incarcerated Longer

Kentucky is currently in the midst of an overdose crisis, particularly with fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that when pharmaceutically prescribed can be used to treat pain but when acquired illegally...

Op-Ed

There’s Still Time for Kentucky to Reverse Course on Harmful Criminal Policies

The 2022 General Assembly has a big opportunity to build on positive changes in criminal policy from last session. Increasing the threshold at which theft becomes a felony, ending the...

Analysis

Kentucky Has an Opportunity to Continue Steps to Reducing Incarceration by Addressing Harsh “Persistent Felony Offender” Laws

Kentucky’s Persistent Felony Offender (PFO) law is a punitive sentencing policy that emerged during the beginning of the so-called War on Drugs. While originally intended as a measure to deter...

Op-Ed

One Step Forward, Six Steps Back: A Decade After Widely Hailed Criminal Justice Reform, Incarceration Is Worsening in Kentucky

Amid inflammatory — and frequently racist — news stories about violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, Kentuckians may be wondering if more criminal punishment would make our communities safer. The answer...

Report

In Decade Since Major Criminal Justice Reform, the Kentucky General Assembly Has Passed Six Times as Many Laws Increasing Incarceration as Decreasing It

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the passage of 2011’s House Bill (HB) 463, “The Public Safety and Offender Accountability Act.”[efn_note]2011 Ky. Acts, ch. 2, https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/acts/11RS/documents/0002.pdf.[/efn_note] HB 463 was...

Analysis

The 2021 Legislative Session Criminal Justice Wrap Up: Some Important Wins that Should Be Built on to Achieve Systemic Change

This year, the Kentucky General Assembly took important steps forward in criminal justice with the passage of policies that will reduce incarceration and related harms in modest but important ways...

Analysis

SB 4 Would Limit No-Knock Warrants and Reduce Harm, but New Amendments Undermine Positive Impact

On the one year anniversary of the killing of Breonna Taylor by police in March 2020, public officials, community organizations and advocates continue to call for a ban of “no-knock”...

Analysis

SB 36 Would Protect Children from Automatically Being Tried as Adults

Senate Bill (SB) 36, sponsored by Senator Whitney Westerfield, would eliminate a provision in Kentucky law mandating that children charged with certain felony offenses be prosecuted as adults, rather than...

The 2022 General Assembly Passed More Bills Increasing Incarceration Than Decreasing It, and Failed to Make Other Badly Needed Justice Changes

Pretrial Bills in the Kentucky General Assembly Are a Mixed Bag

While Failing to Address Kentucky’s Overdose Crisis, HB 215 Would Keep People Incarcerated Longer

There’s Still Time for Kentucky to Reverse Course on Harmful Criminal Policies

Kentucky Has an Opportunity to Continue Steps to Reducing Incarceration by Addressing Harsh “Persistent Felony Offender” Laws

One Step Forward, Six Steps Back: A Decade After Widely Hailed Criminal Justice Reform, Incarceration Is Worsening in Kentucky

In Decade Since Major Criminal Justice Reform, the Kentucky General Assembly Has Passed Six Times as Many Laws Increasing Incarceration as Decreasing It

The 2021 Legislative Session Criminal Justice Wrap Up: Some Important Wins that Should Be Built on to Achieve Systemic Change

SB 4 Would Limit No-Knock Warrants and Reduce Harm, but New Amendments Undermine Positive Impact

SB 36 Would Protect Children from Automatically Being Tried as Adults

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