Why Smart Justice?

Earlier this year, the ACLU of South Dakota launched its Smart Justice Campaign to call attention to the devastation mass incarceration has caused across the country and in South Dakota.

Smart justice is an issue that transcends political parties. Across the country, as well as here in South Dakota, we’re seeing a transformation in public opinion about prisons and crime. We need a criminal justice system that values fairness and justice, not harsh sentences at all costs.

It’s time to get smart on crime instead of tough on crime. Let’s put people, like Terry Liggins and Dawn Ryan, before prisons.