The far-left American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is beginning a campaign to push for the release of tens of thousands of prisoners across the country, claiming that the prison system itself represents “systemic racism,” as reported by Fox News.
The campaign, which is referring to itself as the “Redemption Campaign,” seeks to lobby governors of various states to use the power of executive clemency in order to grant mass pardons of imprisoned criminals. The group claims, without any evidence, that criminals being sent to prison is representative of “decades of racist, punitive, and degrading incarceration.”
Among the kinds of prisoners that the campaign seeks to “liberate” are those who were “convicted of drug distribution offenses.” ACLU spokesman Anthony Romero claimed, again without evidence, that “across the country, people are rising up to demand change.” He baselessly described the prison system as “systemic racism that has defined so much of the American experience.” He also claimed that those who are currently imprisoned for committing crimes are “trapped,” and that they should be freed because they are “black and brown.”
The effort mirrors ongoing efforts by Democratic governors and mayors to release thousands of prisoners due to fears of the coronavirus spreading through prisons. It also parallels the rising far-left calls to defund or abolish police departments all across America, which also seeks to release prisoners and make it harder to send criminals to prison.