002 Top Priority | Overcriminalization and Criminal Justice Reform
Learn why the Stand Together Community is involved in the issue of Overcriminalization, our Community position on Criminal Justice Reform, and how the Stand Together Community views Overcriminalization through the lens of our Vision and the four mutually reinforcing principles: Equal Rights | Mutual Benefit | Openness | Self-Actualization.
**Click here for a printable and clickable pdf download of the show notes from this episode.**
Show: 002 Top Priority Podcast | Overcriminalization, Criminal Justice Reform Priority Initiative
Show: 002 Top Priority Podcast | Overcriminalization, Criminal Justice Reform Priority Initiative
Date Recorded: December 17, 2019
Host: Duane Lester, Manager of Issue Education, Grassroots Leadership Academy
Guests: Vikrant Reddy, Senior Fellow, Charles Koch Institute
Show Notes & Timestamps
- Why should Americans care about Overcriminalization? min [1:31]
The average American commits three felonies per day because the penal code is so vast, expansive, and unknowable at the federal, state, and local level. min [2:30]
“Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.”
—Lavrentiy Beria, the ruthless and brutal secret police chief to Joseph Stalin—
- Why is the Stand Together Community involved in Criminal Justice Reform and reducing Overcriminalization? min [3:27]
- What is the difference between criminal law and civil law? min [5:05]
- Our Community believes two criteria must be met for a law to be a criminal law min [6:20]:
**Click here for a printable and clickable pdf download of the show notes from this episode.**
The violation must have, (1) an identifiable victim —AND— (2) a direct victim
The violation must have, (1) an identifiable victim —AND— (2) a direct victim
- How does our Community approach reducing Overcriminalization through the framework of our Vision—transforming society by breaking barriers? min [8:20]
- How our Community views Overcriminalization through the lens of the first mutually-reinforcing principle—Equal Rights. min [13:55]
**Overcriminalization creates a perverse incentive system for unequal application of the law.**
“If you don’t know what the law is, it is impossible to obey it.” —Vikrant Reddy—