Maura believes that criminal justice reform is paramount to the success of our nation. Statistics show that, per capita, more people are in prison in America than anywhere else in the world. That doesn’t mean that we have more criminals here; it means that we are failing our citizens. Our criminal justice system is flawed, and Maura intends to fix it by supporting legislation in Congress that puts the needs of our communities first.

Prison is supposed to offer an opportunity to turn your life around but our prison systems are simply not cut out for proper rehabilitation. We have serious issues with overcrowding, punishments that are too harsh, and lack of mental health support. Living in these conditions does not offer any individual the opportunity to rehabilitate. Low level, non-violent offenders can be traumatized by our system, and the long term effects of this make it harder to return to society after you’ve done your time.

Maura believes we need to focus on investing in methods that we know help keep crime at a minimum. Investing in education, jobs, health care, housing, and keeping people out of poverty, helps keep communities safe by taking action to prevent crimes from happening in the first place. Living in poverty is not a crime, but we see time and time again the ways in which communities, particularly Black and Latino communities, are underserved and overpoliced. Cutting public services, which so many Republicans want to do, actually increases crime because we are not caring for those who need it the most.

Maura also wants to address life after prison. After people serve their time, they should be able to return to society without issue. Instead, our laws continue to punish people after they leave prison by making it harder to get a job, find safe housing, and find stable employment. So many people who were formerly incarcerated have also lost basic human rights, like their ability to vote. Maura believes that non-violent offenders should be allowed the fresh start that prison is supposed to offer, and that smaller offenses should not cost you a lifetime of freedom.