Home | Find An Ethical Society | Become A Member | Contact | Donate
facebook
twitter
youtube

BtnDonate

  • Who We Are
    • Mission & Vision
    • Ethical Humanism
    • History
    • Member Societies
    • Meet Our Leaders
    • Staff, Board & Committees
  • What We Do
    • Connections Forum & Calendar
    • Sunday Platform Talks
    • Ethical Action
      • Ethical Action News
    • Ethical Education
    • Conferences
      • AEU 105th Assembly on Zoom
    • Awards
  • Ceremonies
    • Seasonal Festivals
    • Weddings
    • Baby Namings
    • Coming of Age
    • Memorials
  • Our Community
    • Become an Individual Member of the AEU
    • Find an Ethical Society
    • Ethical Community
    • Children’s Programming
    • Youth of Ethical Societies (YES)
    • Future of Ethical Societies (FES)
    • National Ethical Service
    • Allied Organizations
  • Events & News
    • Events
    • News
    • Bart’s Blog
    • In the Media – AEU
    • In the Media – Societies
    • Press Kit
    • Ethical Action News
  • Resources
    • Articles
    • Books
    • Ethical Action Reports
    • Ethical Culture Journal
    • Archived Newsletters
    • Platform Talks
    • Resolutions
    • Statements
  • Contact
    • Support the AEU

Resource

off

2015 – Criminal Justice

01 Jul 2015
Emily
Resolutions

Submitted by the Baltimore Ethical Society and Passed at the 100th AEU Assembly

The American Ethical Union supports individuals in living ethical and purposeful lives based on reason, compassion, and a commitment to the fundamental worth and dignity of each human being. We believe these are the foundations of a humane society, and therefore, that we must ensure that our public institutions, including all elements of the Criminal Justice system, honor these central pillars of common ethics.

We Affirm That:

  • People who have committed a crime have the same human worth as all people and are entitled to dignity and access to employment, housing, voting rights, and cultural participation.
  • Our current criminal justice system discriminates against people of color, and targets the weak and vulnerable in our society, including immigrants and people dealing with drug addiction, mental illness, or poverty.
  • Empowering people to bring out their unique best through compassion and evidence-based assistance are more effective means of reducing crime and increasing public safety than the threat of punishment. All human beings can change, and are more likely to change positively when supported socially.
  • Evidence-based community policing strategies[2] have been shown to reduce crime and are more consistent with the values of a democratic society, promoting social harmony and with honoring the dignity of all people. The police should not focus exclusively on monitoring and suppressing behavior.
  • Neuroscience has demonstrated that persons under the age of 21 have not fully developed the brain structure necessary for consistent impulse control, good judgment, and decision-making[1]. Therefore, they should not be treated, charged, or sentenced as adults.
  • Using incarceration/detention as a revenue stream for the state or local government, or putting for-profit corporations at the heart of the criminal justice system is fundamentally inconsistent with maintaining a fair and just system.

 

Therefore, we call on our legislators and government officials to:

  1. End the use of incarceration or detention for all persons convicted or charged with non-violent, victimless offenses. Replace these methods with alternative community solutions that achieve the desired outcome[1] and evidence-based rehabilitative and community integration programs like Maryland Public Safety Compacts, which are humane and shown to reduce recidivism.
  2. End the use of detention for illegal immigrants who have not committed a violent crime.
  3. End the use of solitary confinement.
  4. Treat drug use offenses as a public health concern under the direction of medical care, and repeal laws that bring drug use into the criminal justice system. Treat other drug offenses, including possession and sale, as misdemeanors or infractions.
  5. Eliminate barriers and increase opportunities for previously incarcerated citizens reintegrating into society, including:
    • repealing laws that revoke or restrict the voting rights of citizens who are convicted of crimes, including felonies;
    • automatically expunge the records of people charged but not convicted, and void all fees or financial penalties;
    • allow the chance to expunge misdemeanors and infractions from criminal records after end of parole period, and void all fees or financial penalties.
  6. Reorganize police departments and their goals using evidence-based methods such as those detailed in the national report from Policy Link and the Advancement Project[2].
  7. End the practice of charging or sentencing individuals under 21 as adults under all circumstances[1].
  8. Remove for-profit interests and revenue streams from operations and ancillary operations of incarceration/detention systems.

 

References:
[1]. Johnson, SB et al. 2009. Adolescent Maturity and the Brain: The Promise and Pitfalls of Neuroscience Research in Adolescent Health Policy. J Adolesc Health. 45 (3): 216-221.

[2] Harris West, M. et al. 2001. Community-Centered Policing: A Force for Change. A Report by
POLICYLINK In Partnership with the ADVANCEMENT PROJECT.

Social Share

Sign up for emails from AEU

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: American Ethical Union, 2 West 64th Street, New York, NY, 10023, https://www.aeu.org. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

Recent Posts

  • Week of 2/8/21
  • Seeking Program and Communications Coordinator
  • Week of 9/14/2020

Upcoming Events

Youth of Ethical Societies 2021 Conference

05 Mar 2021 | 07:00 pm
Jamie Raskin

All Society Platform Featuring Congressman Jamie Raskin

28 Mar 2021 | 11:00 am

Facebook Feed

American Ethical Union
American Ethical Union
On this final day of Black History Month, we honor Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), a Black playwright and journalist.Hansberry’s partly autobiographical play “A Raisin in the Sun,” shocked Broadway audiences when a Black character declared, “God is just one idea I don’t accept. ... It’s just that I get so tired of him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort. There simply is no God! There is only man, and it’s he who makes miracles!” She worked with W.E.B. DuBois and Paul Robeson on an African-American progressive newspaper, until her life was tragically cut short at age 34 by cancer.#BlackHistory #BlackHistoryMonth #BHM #BlackNonBelievers #BlackHumanism ... See MoreSee Less

3  ·  

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

American Ethical Union
American Ethical Union
A. Philip Randolph (1889-1979), was a Black labor organizer.Randolph was the founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly Black union. He helped convince President Franklin Roosevelt to desegregate military production factories during World War II, and organized the 1963 March on Washington with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. In 1973, Randolph signed the Humanist Manifesto II, a public declaration of Humanist principles.#BlackHistory #blackhumanism #BlackHistoryMonth ... See MoreSee Less

6  ·  

Photo

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

American Ethical Union
American Ethical Union
Do you have teens at home looking for a fun weekend full of Ethical connections? There's still time to sign up for AEU's National Youth of Ethical Societies Annual Conference, happening online March 5-7th!This year's topic is the American public education system. Discussions will include:•Comparing our similarities and differences between our districts•Standardized testing•Exploring teachers’ points of view vs. students’•The American education system vs. foreign systems•Common core•The future of education•Attending virtual classes•Inequities and how different forms of oppression are perpetuated by our current system•The school to prison pipeline•School districting that leads to segregation•Mental health resources•Correctional officers/police in schools•And more!Sign up here: ow.ly/li2T50DJh4q ... See MoreSee Less

YES Conference 2021

ow.ly

Join the AEU for this year's YES National Conference! On the weekend of March 5, we will gather online to share our thoughts on this year's topic: America's Public Education System

7  ·  

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

American Ethical Union
American Ethical Union
"At its core, we are teaching children to care, about ethics, about caring for community, others and the earth," said Jessi Almstead. "We're teaching compassion for all beings, a sense of fairness and justice for all, citizenship and community service and altruism. It's not a fixed set of beliefs, but it's a learning environment where children are encouraged to think for themselves, to think critically and think ethically." ... See MoreSee Less

Society celebrates Black History Month with children's stories

www.dailyitem.com

LEWISBURG — The Susquehanna Valley Ethical Society (SVES) celebrated Black History Month with a live reading of children's books each week on Facebook Live.

1  ·  

View on Facebook
· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email

Twitter Feed

Tweets by @EthicalUnion

Instagram Feed

ethicalunion

On this final day of Black History Month, we honor On this final day of Black History Month, we honor Lorraine Hansberry (1930-1965), a Black playwright and journalist.

Hansberry’s partly autobiographical play “A Raisin in the Sun,” shocked Broadway audiences when a Black character declared, “God is just one idea I don’t accept. ... It’s just that I get so tired of him getting credit for all the things the human race achieves through its own stubborn effort. There simply is no God! There is only man, and it’s he who makes miracles!” She worked with W.E.B. DuBois and Paul Robeson on an African-American progressive newspaper, until her life was tragically cut short at age 34 by cancer.

#BlackHistory #BlackHistoryMonth #BHM #BlackNonBelievers #BlackHumanism
A. Philip Randolph (1889-1979), was a Black labor A. Philip Randolph (1889-1979), was a Black labor organizer.

Randolph was the founder of the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, the first predominantly black union. He helped convince President Franklin Roosevelt to desegregate military production factories during World War II, and organized the 1963 March on Washington with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. 

In 1973, Randolph signed the Humanist Manifesto II, a public declaration of Humanist principles.

#BlackHistory #BlackHumanism #BlackHistoryMonth
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Sign up for emails from AEU

Select list(s) to subscribe to


By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: American Ethical Union, 2 West 64th Street, New York, NY, 10023, https://www.aeu.org. You can revoke your consent to receive emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact

BtnDonate

American Ethical Union | 2 West 64th Street, New York, NY 10023 | Phone: (212) 873-6500 | office@aeu.org