Criminal Justice Reform

Allen believes that the American criminal justice system needs a complete overhaul starting with the death penalty. He believes that the death penalty needs to be abolished.

Too many innocent people have lost their lives because of the death penalty and one life is one to many. The death penalty, which has proven to be a cruel and unusual form of punishment that has no place in the United States of America. The application of the death penalty is arbitrary and unjust, and disproportionately affects the poor and underserved. The cost to taxpayers far exceeds those of life imprisonment and it does not deter crime. And, exonerations and new technology show there is a dangerous lack of reliability for what is an irreversible punishment.

Allen believes that the current laws around marijuana are too harsh and need reformed. We should be working to reduce the constraints on medical marijuana licensing so that it’s more accessible and affordable for providers to obtain licenses which would create more clinics that are available to the public. Allen also stands for the decriminalization of marijuana use. Too many people, particularly African Americans, are stuck in prison for lengthy sentences for these non-violent offenses emphasizing the racial inequality in marijuana prosecutions.