Criminal justice REFORM

Cash bail destabilizes communities. People without resources who aren't a threat to the community sit in jail because they can't make bail, losing their jobs, housing, or pleading to crimes they aren't guilty of in order to get out.

As Polk County Attorney, it will be the presumption of my office to not request cash bail for people who are not a violent threat to the community.

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The United States incarcerates more people than any other nation on earth, yet we rank 117th on the Global Peace Index (which measures, among other things, safety.)

Mass incarceration isn’t making us safer. The time is now for reform.

Learn more about how prosecutors across the country are wielding their power to reform our criminal and juvenile justice systems.

Read the 21 Principles for the 21st Century Prosecutor report by Fair and Just Prosecution and the Brennan Center.

The Polk County Attorney’s Office has limited resources. We should be focusing those resources on things that actually make us less safe, like prosecuting violent crime and sexual assault.

No child is disposable. The presumption of the office will be to not waive juveniles to adult court whenever possible. According to a 2021 analysis by the Iowa Sentencing Project, Iowa detains Black youth at the highest national rate.

Under my direction, the office will put a greater emphasis on diversion programs and early intervention.

Under my leadership, the Polk County Attorney’s Office will track data surrounding charging, sentencing, and plea deals. This information will be released publicly on a regular basis. In order to end racial and income disparities, we need to track that data.

The office will also respond to public records requests in a timely manner.

Under my leadership, the office will end the practice of overcharging. We will also be ending the “trial penalty”, where prosecutors threaten harsher outcomes if a defendant refuses to take a plea deal but is found guilty at trial. The right to a trial is enshrined in our Constitution. No one should be penalized for exercising that right.

Under my leadership, the office will be committed to a high standard of ethics. All evidence will be turned over to the defense in a timely manner and prosecutorial misconduct will not be tolerated.

As Polk County Attorney, my office will collaborate with the State Public Defender’s Conviction Integrity Unit.

Your income shouldn’t determine your experience with the criminal justice system. As Polk County Attorney, I will work to eliminate income disparities whenever possible and end the criminalization of poverty.

As Polk County Attorney, my office will prosecute economic crimes whenever possible.

People of Color are overrepresented in our criminal and juvenile justice system at every level.

As Polk County Attorney, my office will track and eliminate racial disparities within our criminal and juvenile justice systems.

The Polk County Attorney is an elected, public service position.

Under my leadership, the office will prioritize community input, outreach and engagement.

I am accountable to you.

People who struggle with mental illness and/or addiction wind up in the criminal justice system at disparate rates. As a result, America’s largest treatment facilities are not hospitals, but jails and prisons.

Mental illness and drug addiction are public health issues. We should endeavor to offer meaningful treatment and support whenever possible.

LGBTQ+ individuals are incarcerated at disproportionately higher rates compared to the general population.

As Polk County Attorney, my office will track and eliminate these disparities within our criminal and juvenile justice systems.

As Polk County Attorney, my office will hire a full-time social worker to help connect people with services and prevent future crimes.

We must take a holistic approach to crime prevention.