"With the election of Kathy Jennings as the Democratic candidate for Attorney General, Delaware has chosen to put criminal justice reform at the top of the ballot in November. At the forums sponsored throughout the primary campaign, she committed to making policies and practices in the Department of Justice more transparent, including expanding access to data that can be used to transform the criminal justice system and establishing a Community Accountability Committee. The ACLU of Delaware applauds these initiatives.
She also committed to support proposals to reduce mandatory minimum sentences, to eliminate consecutive sentencing that results in unnecessary jail time and to oppose reinstatement of the death penalty. These commitments are important to reducing mass incarceration in Delaware and we intend to find out if Bernard Pepukayi, Kathy's opponent in the general election, will make them, too.
Our #VoteSmartJusticeDE campaign will continue through to the general election in November. The ACLU of Delaware intends to keep voters fully informed about where their candidates stand on meaningful criminal justice reform.
When 51% of Delaware’s prison population is African American, 96% of cases are being decided by plea-bargain and people are incarcerated awaiting trial simply because they can’t afford bail, we know that the system is not working. By voting for reform-minded candidates, we can end mass incarceration and challenge racial bias in the criminal justice system. Thank you for voting Smart Justice, Delaware."
Kathleen Macrae Executive Director, ACLU-DE
