Provide non-violent imprisoned people with the opportunity to earn a chance to reintegrate into society
A nation that imprisons more of its people than any other is not the land of the free. Mass incarceration has turned justice into industry, where profit is made on the backs of prisoner labor, and sentences stretch far beyond reason. This is not justice or public safety—it is intentional systemic failure, designed to benefit elite interests at the expense of those who have been over-punished.
No corporation should profit from caging human beings. No person should serve a lifetime sentence for poverty, addiction, or minor offenses while corrupt wealthy elites walk free. Justice must be about rehabilitation, not revenue.
A society that indefinitely locks up its most vulnerable is a society in chains. Other nations invest in education, mental health, and opportunity instead of prisons. Their crime rates are lower. Their communities are stronger. America must do the same. Project 2029 believes the time has come to reform sentencing laws and free those whose lives have been ruined by oversentencing. Our platform calls for:
Directing the DOJ to create a Clemency Task Force. To immediately begin repairing the damage caused by decades of overcriminalization, presidential clemency powers must be used proactively. A new Clemency Task Force within the DOJ must be authorized to review and recommend pardons, sentence commutations, or case closures for any individuals deemed to have been over-prosecuted for non-violent offenses who pose no threat to public safety.
Directing the DOJ and U.S. Attorneys to identify individuals serving extreme or outdated sentences for non-violent offenses and petition courts for resentencing after achieving demonstrated rehabilitation.
Ordering the Bureau of Prisons to revise its regulations to maximize access to First Step Act credits, expand eligible rehabilitative programming, and ensure non-violent individuals can meaningfully reduce time served through education, work, and treatment.
