The next steps in criminal justice reform

In a review of Carrie Pettus-Davis' edited text, Smart Decarceration, Christopher Slobogin notes, "Perhaps most distinctive about the book is the inclusion of chapters from formerly incarcerated individuals. Ronald Simpson-Bey, who spent 27 years in prison, asserts that 'Those closest to the problems are closest to the solutions' (p. 55). His chapter and that of Glenn Martin, another ex-prisoner, detail the impediments they faced after release. But the primary focus of both chapters is to push for heavy involvement of such individuals in leadership positions, not only with respect to the design and implementation of re-entry programs and release-decision-making practices, but also in the manner in which police and prosecutors carry out their roles."