The COVID-19 crisis has lifted a magnifying glass to one of the greatest challenges facing the United States—criminal justice reform. And no aspect of the problem is more urgent than reducing US incarceration rates, the highest in the world. Highly vulnerable due to confinement in crowded conditions, with scarce testing kits and limited personal protective equipment, prisoners are succumbing to the virus at unprecedented rates. Reforms of the cash bail system and accelerated release of non-violent offenders are key to reducing incarceration rates. Under the current cash bail system, people awaiting trial who can't raise bail remain behind bars. For many, the result is lost jobs, lost homes, broken families. Equally critical is the adoption of safe systems to release non-violent offenders and reintegrate them into the workforce and society as a whole. The panel will explore innovative, safe, short-term solutions, while advocating for comprehensive reform in the long-term.

Please join Milken Institute Executive Director, Center for Regional Economics, Kevin Klowden, for a facilitated conversation in the chat room during the session.