John Legend is hoping the United States embraces a criminal justice system “rethink”.
The nine-time Grammy-winning R&B crooner has launched a campaign called FREE AMERICA in an attempt to put an end to the practice of mass incarceration.
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The Glory musician spoke at POLITICO’s An Evening with John Legend panel last week in Washington D.C. and while in the US capital, he made his political agenda clear.
“We need to really rethink our crime justice system," John told People magazine.
"We've ratcheted up penalties for everything. We're singular among other nations when it comes to the way we penalise crime. Over the '70s, '80s and '90s, we just decided everything's got a new minimum mandatory penalty – a ridiculous amount. Compared to other countries we're way heavier with sentencing. We need to rethink that. We're destroying way too many communities and families. I think we can do it in a smarter, more compassionate way."
John is convinced people of colour, impoverished citizens and the mentally ill are unfairly targeted.
The 36-year-old is dismayed at the amount of pain American prisoners are likely to experience in and out of jail.
"A lot of them have been through trauma and witnessed tragedy in their own lives," John noted. "A lot of them have circumstances that have put them in a position where they've had a lot of disadvantage in life, and what I want to do is really humanise them and really hear their stories. Because sometimes we put them away and forget about them and we don't listen to them. We don't realise they have stories and circumstances and families that led them to the trouble that they're in right now.
“A lot of them are dealing with drug issues and mental health issues, and we're using prisons as a way to deal with mental illness and drug dependency when I think there are other ways to deal with those things.”
