“Tough-on-Crime” Fearmongering Falls Flat in the Midterms

OFF-KILTER with Rebecca Vallas

With the U.S. midterm elections just behind us, to continue Off-Kilter’s ongoing series of conversations about the limiting beliefs that we as a collective must release and replace to pave the way for economic liberation, Rebecca sat down with Nick Turner—president and director of the Vera Institute for Justice—to unpack two of the most toxic limiting beliefs in American politics that flared up dramatically in the recent midterms: the notion that you have to be “tough on crime” to win political office, and that safety requires tough on crime policies. They had a far-ranging conversation about expanding consciousness around America’s broken criminal legal system in recent years—and how safety and justice can actually go hand in hand.

For more:

• Learn more about the Vera Institute for Justice’s work here
• Dig into Vera’s polling on crime and safety narratives and the midterms here
• Follow Nick (@nickturner718) and the Vera Institute (@verainstitute) on Twitter