The following six-point agenda was adopted by participants in the Citizens Summit on Criminal Justice Reform that the Houston Peace and Justice Center held April 20-21, 2001. The conference had many co-sponsors, among them the law schools at Texas Southern Un. and Un. of Houston, ACLU, Houston Area Urban League, and Latino Voters League.

Every organization interested in reducing the flagrant bias in our criminal justice system is encouraged to endorse all or part of the reform agenda, then work on its implementation.

Abolish the death penalty, beginning with a moratorium on executions

a.. Requires state legislation, but the Harris County DA's office, which sends a hugely disproportionate number of people to death row, could reduce the number of capital sentences it seeks. Decriminalize possession of marijuana

a.. Requires state legislation, but local law enforcement and prosecutors could end the pattern of discrimination in the enforcement of the law.

Establish a Public Defender office

a.. With passage of SB7, it will be up to the County Commissioners whether one is established in Harris County and any contiguous county that has at least four state district criminal courts. Data collection and annual reporting on race and income level of original booking, charges, and sentences

a.. This could either be approached by local ordinance (City Councils for municipal courts, County Commissions for state district courts) and/or by convincing the judges to adopt the practice. Due process in enforcement of laws regarding immigrants and refugees

Citizen Police Review Board

a.. Requires legislation at the local or state level.

View: Poor Youth Suffer Brunt of Harsh System; "Teen Alert Program" Designed to Help

Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs

Of all the various aspects of racial injustice in the nation's administration of criminal justice, racial bias in the enforcement of drug laws has had the widest impact on communities of color in the U.S. For details of that impact, including racial data on both the general prison population and those incarcerated for drug offenses, see the Human Rights Watch Report June 2000: Punishment and Prejudice: Racial Disparities in the War on Drugs http://www.hrw.org/campaigns/drugs/war/.