Alicia Keys Pens Open Letter For Justice Reform

Over the years, Alicia Keys has become more vocal about social issues. Following President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address on Tuesday night, Keys launched her new movement on Change.org called #JusticeReformNOW.

The purpose of the movement is to raise awareness about mass incarceration in America. Specifically #JusticeReformNOW looks to reform mandatory minimum sentencing, “ban the box,” establish alternatives to incarceration, and provide comprehensive re-entry assistance to men and women returning home from prison.

Keys wrote an open letter about justice reform to urge fans to sign a petition that she plans to take to Congress and President Obama. In the letter, she mentions how she has seen how the prison system destroys families and how she needs everyone to come together to help fix the broken prison system.

Read Keys’ full letter below.

Every night, nearly three million children go to bed with a parent behind bars.

We sell ourselves as the land of the free, but we have more people in prisons and jails than the whole Western world combined.

Is this our America?

On a recent trip to Baltimore, I saw firsthand how the prison system is destroying families. I spoke with an eight-year-old boy about his father, his hero, who “used to take him everywhere.” But now, his father is incarcerated. Sadly, his story is all too common across our nation: children are left to grow up without their heroes, who are also often their mothers, fathers, sisters, and brothers.

As a parent myself, I’m asking you to help us fix this system.

Rather than treating drug addiction and mental illness with compassion and treatment, we punish and incarcerate mothers, fathers and children. Our prisons have become warehouses for the poor, addicted, and mentally ill. We have to change this.

President Obama has asked Congress to pass a bill as soon as possible. Both the Senate and House Judiciary Committees have passed versions of a bipartisan bill that would scale back overly harsh sentences for nonviolent drug offenders. But a version of this bill still needs to pass the full Senate and House, which means it needs your support.

Now is the time.

Let’s release people who have made dumb mistakes in their past into a more compassionate America. We should strive to live in a country where your worst deed no longer defines you.

We have a small small window of time to gather 1 million signatures. Once we do, I’m going to deliver the petition directly to the President and Congress, but I need your help.

It can end here and end with us. You can show the people of America that we are a caring society that believes in rehabilitation and equal justice for all.

Please join our movement for #JusticeReformNow.

Thank you for your time and your compassion,
Alicia Keys