Article snippet: WASHINGTON — Representative Ayanna Pressley on Thursday proposed legislation to end the death penalty and ban assault weapons as part of a sweeping plan to make the criminal justice system smaller, less discriminatory, and “more humane.” Her bill centers around five tenets — shared power, freedom, equality, safety, and dignity — and aims to combat what the Boston Democrat said was the disproportionate effect of the criminal justice system on women, people of color, immigrants, the LGBTQ community, and other marginalized groups. “For far too long, those closest to the pain have not been closest to the power, resulting in a racist, xenophobic, rogue, and fundamentally flawed criminal legal system,” Pressley said in announcing the “People’s Justice Guarantee” legislation. “Our resolution calls for a bold transformation of the status quo — devoted to dismantling injustices so that the system is smaller, safer, less punitive, and more humane.” Pressley said the plan would “substantially reduce the number of people incarcerated” by decriminalizing low-level offenses and consensual sex work, as well as capping prison sentences for all crimes. She also would end the use of money-based bail and private prisons. Pressley cited multiple instances of what she said was injustice in the American prison system, including that the United States is home to 21 percent of the world’s prisoners despite making up just 4 percent of the world’s population. The black community unevenly... Link to the full article to read more