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Fighting for Conservative Criminal Justice Reform.

We provide leadership for the growing conservative consensus that our criminal justice system is badly broken, doesn’t make us safer, and needs to be fixed.

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About ACUF

The Nolan Center for Justice was established by the American Conservative Union Foundation to provide leadership for the growing conservative consensus that our criminal justice system is badly broken, and that there are proven, conservative reforms that will keep the public safe while restraining costs.

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The Conservative Principles of Justice guide our policies and thinking at the Center, and it is our goal to encourage their application whenever and wherever possible.

Where lawmakers have applied these principles to the justice system, crime has dropped, there are fewer people in prison, and the taxpayers have saved billions of dollars.

1)
The Justice System must be held accountable for wise use of tax dollars, just as it holds offenders accountable for their actions.
2)
Offenders should be held accountable to make restitution to their victims.
3)
Proof that a person intended to break the law should be required for them to be convicted of a crime.
4)
We should reserve costly prison beds for truly dangerous offenders.
5)
The harm done by a sentence should never be greater than the harm caused by the crime.
6)
Congress should not create a federal crime unless the activity is conducted across state lines or international borders.
7)
We support expanding courts that specialize in dealing with specific populations, e.g. veterans, people with mental illness, and those with drug and alcohol addictions.
8)
The goal of prisons should be to prepare Inmates to leave prison better than they go in.
9)
Prisons should be safe for staff, volunteers, and inmates.
10)
No matter what terrible things offenders have done, they are children of God and staff should never demean them.
11)
Volunteers should be encouraged to provide services and programs inside prisons, and to mentor inmates after they are released.
12)
Prisons should encourage healthy relationships with families – the most important factor in successfully and safely returning to the community after release.