Matt Morgan Makes the Case for Criminal Justice Reform

5 min read time
Gavel on Book

John Morgan has been known to quote James 2:26: ā€œFaith without works is dead.ā€

His son Matt seems to have taken this verse to heart.

As coronavirus outbreaks ravage U.S. prisons, Matt Morgan has renewed his advocacy for sweeping criminal justice reform. In a recent op-ed for Law360, Morgan hails the steps taken by State Attorneys Andrew Warren (13th Judicial Circuit in Florida) and Aramis Ayala (9th Judicial Circuit) to reduce the stateā€™s prison population. 

While these measures should help stem the spread of the virus, Morgan argues that broader, more lasting change is required to correct the imbalances in Americaā€™s judicial system:

"...the efforts to reduce our jail population should not stop once we get the coronavirus under control. While this pandemic is laying bare many of this countryā€™s broken systems, the criminal justice crisis in America is largely swept under the rug. It began long before the coronavirus hit, and if we donā€™t act now, it will continue long after."

Morgan cites jarring statistics to drive home the U.S.ā€™s racial inequities: ā€œOne out of every three black boys born today can expect to go to prison in his lifetime and one out of six Latino boys will go to prison,ā€ compared to one in 17 white boys. He calls this disparity ā€œblatant racism in broad daylight,ā€ and says it goes against everything America stands for.

Moreover, three-quarters of the countryā€™s jail population has not been convicted of their alleged crime. ā€œThey sit there, many on nonsense charges,ā€ Morgan writes, ā€œfor 30 to 50 days while they await their court date.ā€

In the short term, Morgan calls for the nationwide release of every person awaiting trial for a low-level offense. But he also demands more permanent reforms: ā€œBeyond the COVID-19 pandemic, we should not be arresting and jailing people who commit low-level, nonviolent offenses,ā€ such as driving with a suspended license or sleeping in a public area.

In February, Morgan put his money where his mouth is by co-founding the Community Bail Fund, a nonprofit organization that raises bail money for low-income people who have been charged with, but not convicted of, nonviolent offenses.

In a press conference announcing the fund, Morgan stood shoulder-to-shoulder with State Attorney Aramis Ayala and Public Defender Robert Wesley Thursday. He pledged that the Morgan family would match every dollar raised up to $250,000.

ā€œIn America, the standard is innocent until proven guilty ā€” not incarcerated until proven rich,ā€ Morgan said, a sentiment he echoed on Law360. Morgan added that his family has a reputation for following through on things ā€œto the very endā€: likely an allusion to both the firmā€™s legal victories and his fatherā€™s successful campaign to decriminalize medical marijuana in Florida.

Matt Morganā€™s own works on this issue, it seems, are just beginning.

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