Jan. 2019 Hot Topic Video - Smart Justice

Jan. 2019 Hot Topic Video - Smart Justice

Smart Justice Delaware
Type: 
Blog Post

On January 28, 2019, Kathleen MacRae from ACLU Delaware spoke on the topic "Why Smart Justice for Delaware?"

In case you missed us at Michaels that day, the videotape is provided below. Kathleen first set the stage by laying out the causes of the situation we are in, followed by a discussion of what ACLU wants to do about it (the Campaign for Smart Justice... starting about 40 minutes in).

After you press the "Play" button (the right-triangle at the center of the video), you may also need to click the speaker icon in the lower right to enable the sound. The video may start by default with the speaker muted (this is indicated by a small "x" next to the speaker icon).

The full video is one hour and 8 minutes long. Minute markers are provided below for your convenience:
02:00 - The U.S. is the world's largest jailor
02:45 - Delaware imprisons at a higher rate than average
03:25 - How did we get here?
08:30 - Mass incarceration drivers in Delaware
15:50 - The power of the prosecutor
21:25 - Systemic racial bias in Delaware's criminal justice system
25:00 - The Human Impact
29:30 - (power cut out / Q&A)
38:45 - Injustice reaches beyond those convicted
40:45 - Delaware's Campaign for Smart Justice
44:15 - Prosecutorial reform
49:50 - Prison programs, parole & probation
1:01:30 - Re-entry programming
1:02:45 - Challenge fines & fees
1:05:10 - Smart Justice Tactics

Questions & answers are also sprinkled liberally throughout the presentation; Leaguers are a curious bunch! Many thanks to Kathleen for putting up with us, and for a thoroughly knowledgeable presentation. 


Kathleen MacRae

Guest speaker Kathleen MacRae joined the ACLU-DE as executive director in November of 2010. She relocated to Delaware from New Mexico where she had worked for the ACLU-NM as development director. Before settling in with the ACLU, Kathleen was the executive director of the New Mexico Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty. There she led the campaign that won passage of repeal legislation in the NM House of Representatives for the first time in 2005. In March 2009, after a 10-year effort, New Mexico's death penalty was abolished.

Kathleen has a Master's degree in social work from Rhode Island College with concentrations in policy analysis, community organizing and social service administration and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rhode Island. She is a member of the board of directors of Equality Delaware, Inc. 

League to which this content belongs: 
New Castle County