Sentence Reduction Legislation and Legal Incrementalism

In this paper, I draw on Critical Race Theory (CRT) to examine the legal and moral arguments invoked by sentence reduction legislation, largely admired as a model of cutting-edge prison reform passed in Washington, D.C. as well as other states. I use CRT to unearth the interconnectedness of race and legislative power within the D.C. city council’s IRAA ratification and amendment process. I argue that the incremental reform of the prison system reflected in sentence reduction amendments maintains the system’s capacity to inflict anti-Black violence—especially against Black youth—instead of initiating substantive changes. I rely on in-depth interviews about proximity to incarceration in Washington, D.C. to lend support to my argument. These counterstories provide insight into participants’ legal consciousness regarding the justice policy over time. Taken together, this sociohistorical study illuminates the limited possibilities offered by sentence reduction legislation as sufficient or merciful prison reform.