MISSOURI JUSTICE REFORM

Working Closely With Missouri Lawmakers

YC4JR Begins Targeting Missouri

During the legislative session, the YC4JR educated lawmakers on the challenges that exist in Missouri as a result of laws that haven’t been updated since the 1980s.

the need for jutice reform

  • Removing barriers to access a job
    • The ‘Fresh Start Act of 2020’ would remove blanket bans on professional licenses for individuals with certain felony convictions. This bill would make it easier for formerly incarcerated individuals to obtain professional licenses, which in turn helps individuals get and keep jobs
  • Expanding expungement opportunities
    • Over the last few years, legislation has been enacted in Missouri that allows individuals with certain convictions on their records the opportunity (after a number of years), to petition and pay the court to have their convictions expunged from their records. Legislation has filed for 2020 legislative session would expand the convictions that could be expunged through petition.
  • Increasing parole eligibility
    • Elder parole legislation has seen progress in Missouri the past two years and was been refilled again this year. This legislation would allow individuals who have already served a large portion of their long sentence, are over the age 65, and no longer a risk to the community the opportunity for a parole hearing and to return to their community. Also filed this year, is a bi-partisan sponsored measure to authorize a sentence review for individuals who were under 18 at the time the crime was committed and have been sentenced to a term of imprisonment for life with or without eligibility for parole, a term of 15 or more years, or multiple terms when taken together amount to 15 or more years.
  • Missouri’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative
    • Since taking office Governor Parson has shown great interest in criminal justice reform and has made it a major platform of his 2020 legislative agenda. The Governor recently hired a full-time policy expert to focus exclusively on “justice reinvestment” and continues holding quarterly meetings of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative Oversight Committee.
  • Community-based treatment and alternative sentencing programs
    • The Governor’s Justice Reinvestment Initiative Oversight Committee launched a pilot program for community-based behavioral health centers and is seeking appropriations for FY 2021 to expand the program statewide. Additionally, newly filed legislation specifically says, "a court must consider the option to order certain offenders to participate in community-based treatment programs as a sentencing alternative if the offender is the primary caregiver of one or more dependent children and the offender meets certain other specified requirements.
  • Recent news articles regarding criminal justice reform in Missouri:

President Donald Trump 2020 State of the Union Address

“Our ecnomy has for the first time ever given many former prisoners the ability to get a great job and a fresh start. This second chance at life is made possible because we passed landmark criminal justice reform into law. Everybody said that criminal justice reform couldn’t be done, but I got it done and the people in this room got it done.”

Van Jones CPAC Conference March 13, 2019

"The conservative movement is now the leader on criminal justice reform”.

Senator Tim Scott Statement following Senate passage of the First Step Act

“Today the Senate took a great step forward in building safer communities and a brighter future for those who have served their time and are re-entering society,” Scott said. “By cutting recidivism, encouraging job training, education and mental health and substance abuse treatments for incarcerated individuals, and making our criminal justice system both smarter and tougher, we have taken a positive step forward tonight. I want to thank all of my colleagues for their hard work on this bill, and I look forward to House passage and the President enthusiastically signing the First Step Act into law.”

Senator Lindsey Graham Scott On NBC's "Meet the Press"

"Let’s start 2019 on a positive note. I’m urging Sen. McConnell to bring the bill (criminal justice reform bill) to the floor of the Senate. It would get 80 votes. Mr. President, pick up the phone and push the Republican leadership. The Republicans are the problem here, not the Democrats.”

Senator Cory Gardner Statement concerning criminal justice bill

"If we can get a vote on it, I feel very confident we can get it passed.”