Colie Levar Long: Listen to a former prisoner — longer sentences don’t work
At the core of opposition to the District of Columbia’s proposed new code of criminal laws — the subject of a mayoral veto overridden by the council, and more recently a resolution of disapproval passed by the House — is a commonly believed myth: that long incarcerations protect residents and deter future offenders.
However, data and lived experience — my own and that of many others — attest to the fact that longer sentences are not the answer. I was sent by the District into prison when I was just 18, and spent the next 26 years behind bars. You could say I’m sort of an expert in the “consequences” touted by opponents of the revised code and even The Washington Post’s editorial board.
The data show that deterrence primarily results from the intervention itself — not by extending its length. According to the Sentencing Project, “prison terms have grown so long that they exceed their anticipated public safety benefit. The national, state and international evidence shows that we can safely release people convicted of violence far sooner than we do.”
It is also important to consider what prison accomplishes: As I know firsthand, prison too often corrupts, rather than rehabilitates. Especially for those incarcerated when young, the longer you’re in, the more likely it is that you’ll come out dysfunctional and traumatized. How does that help the community?
I was fortunate enough to emerge from prison well-adjusted enough to give back to my community: I’m now working as a program associate for Georgetown University’s Prisons and Justice Initiative, which provides higher education in the DC jail and professional development for returning citizens. Although I’m the first to admit that I needed to learn to be accountable for my actions, my rehabilitation largely occurred despite prison, not because of it. As documented by a report from More Than Our Crimes and the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, the federal prisons where DC residents are sent are rife with physical abuse, repeated and prolonged isolation, and substandard medical and mental health care. It’s a culture in which you literally must watch your back every day to avoid violence from other prisoners as well as staff. No wonder the Justice Policy Institute concluded that longer sentences can actually promote criminality.
I was finally released from prison due to DC’s pioneering Second Look Amendment Act, which offers the opportunity to petition a judge for freedom to anyone who committed a crime when they were younger than 25 and who has been incarcerated at least 15 years. This was a landmark piece of legislation that made DC a national model. Since its enactment, more than 130 individuals have been released due to DC’s commitment to second chances. Many of us are now helping to improve public safety and social services by working as credible messengers, violence interrupters and support staff for nonprofits throughout the District.
The Revised Criminal Code Act would expand that mercy to anyone who has been in prison for 20 years or more. In other words, it would offer a second chance to many more individuals just like me, who are now wasting away in prison despite their readiness and desire to be with their families, and who could benefit DC in returning to their community.
Creating a pathway that envisions and facilitates this type of rehabilitation is the answer to the question posed in the title of a Jan. 14 community discussion in Anacostia: “Love and Order: Can They Co-Exist in Addressing Youth Violence?” Yes, people who commit crimes must be held accountable. And we must plan from the very beginning to bring them back home to their families within a period that is no longer than it needs to be. There is no magic answer to what that number is for particular crimes, but experts on the DC Criminal Code Reform Commission painstakingly analyzed every element of every charge that can be brought in the District, comparing the language to the laws in other states, the model code developed by the American Law Institute, and research conducted into best practices. It’s time to trust the data.
Unfortunately, a majority in the House did not do so when they voted Thursday to disapprove the Revised Criminal Code Act. The matter now goes to the Senate (and potentially the White House), which ought to defer to the wishes of District residents as expressed by our locally elected legislature.
It’s been 120 years since the District’s current criminal code was developed — and more than two decades since it was ranked as one of the worst in a legal review of the effectiveness of the country’s 52 criminal codes. DC deserves an updated code that reflects both the data and the lived experience of people like me.
Colie Levar Long is a program associate for the Georgetown University Prisons and Justice Initiative and a coordinator with More Than Our Crimes, for which he will soon co-host the podcast Voices Unlocked.
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