Reform Activists and a New DA Find Common Ground


In Texas' Harris County, the state's most populous county, a grassroots collective of criminal justice activists contributed to a political shift that led to reforms in prosecutions, jails, bail, and policing. Inspired by the movement sparked by the death of Michael Brown in Missouri in 2014, groups such as Houston Justice and the Texas Organizing Project backed the election of a reform-minded district attorney, who turned toward community collaboration and away from tough-on-crime solutions. The new DA, plus favorable court rulings and state laws, softened the country's rough-justice reputation.

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