As the United States approaches another election cycle, the cracks in the criminal legal system have become impossible to ignore. From pretrial detention practices to sentencing guidelines, from prison labor exploitation to digital surveillance behind bars — it’s clear that meaningful reform is not only possible but urgently necessary. And heading into 2026, advocates, researchers, and directly impacted individuals are rallying around a slate of 34 criminal legal system reforms poised to gain real traction across the country.
At the same time, a major battle is unfolding in Illinois: a proposed rule change that would permanently authorize mail scanning and mail restrictions for thousands of incarcerated people. The Prison Policy Initiative (PPI), along with numerous civil-rights and human-rights organizations, has come out strongly against it — because the implications extend far beyond a single state.
For Sustainable Action Now, the issue is clear: reform cannot move forward if practices that strip away dignity, privacy, and human connection are becoming normalized within prisons. These two developments — a visionary list of reforms, and a dangerous rollback of rights — must be viewed together if we are to push for a more just future.
To learn more about Sustainable Action Now’s ongoing reporting on incarceration, prison reform, and systemic injustice, visit: https://sustainableactionnow.org/private-prisons/.
The Momentum Toward 2026 Reform: 34 Changes That Could Transform the Criminal Legal System
Reform advocates have laid out a roadmap of 34 achievable, evidence-driven policy changes that states can adopt in 2026. These reforms are grounded in data, shaped by communities, and aimed at dismantling the systems that have trapped millions in cycles of incarceration, poverty, and trauma.
While each state faces its own political and structural realities, these reforms share one thing in common: they center people, not punishment. The 34 recommended policy changes include:
1. Ending Cash Bail and Predatory Pretrial Detention Practices
Every year, tens of thousands of people sit in jail not because they are a threat — but because they cannot afford bail. Eliminating cash bail would stop courts from using wealth as the primary deciding factor in freedom.
2. Removing Mandatory Minimums
Mandatory sentencing laws have fueled mass incarceration for decades. Rolling them back allows judges the discretion to consider context, rehabilitation potential, and proportionality.
3. Restoring Voting Rights to People on Parole and Probation
Democracy is stronger when everyone participates. Growing bipartisan support shows restoring voting rights is both achievable and transformative.
4. Ending Prison Gerrymandering
Counting incarcerated people as residents of rural prison towns — instead of their home communities — distorts political representation. Fixing this is critical to fair democracy.
5. Limiting or Abolishing Solitary Confinement
Long-term isolation is torture. States are increasingly recognizing this and pursuing strict limits or outright bans.
6. Improving Transparency in Correctional Healthcare
Behind bars, poor medical care is rampant. The reforms call for independent oversight and higher standards that align with human rights norms.
7. Overhauling Parole Systems
Parole should be a path to reentry, not a trapdoor back to incarceration. Reforms aim to reduce arbitrary revocations and expand eligibility.
8. Ending Jail-Based “User Fees”
People leaving jail often exit burdened by fines, fees, and debts that make reentry nearly impossible. Eliminating these fees reduces recidivism and poverty.
9. Strengthening Public Defender Resources
A public defender with an unmanageable caseload cannot provide a defense. Adequate funding ensures fairness in the courtroom.
10. Expanding Earned Time Credits and Reentry Support
States that expand earned time programs see lower recidivism and smoother transitions into society.
These are just a sample of the comprehensive 34-part reform agenda — a roadmap built for impact and achievable across political lines.
For a deeper breakdown of America’s prison-industrial complexities, Sustainable Action Now’s full resource hub is available at: https://sustainableactionnow.org/private-prisons/.
The Urgent Fight in Illinois: Blocking Devastating Mail Scanning Policies
While significant reform gains are possible in 2026, there are also alarming moves being made to restrict the rights of incarcerated people. One of the most troubling developments comes from Illinois, where a proposed rule change would:
Make permanent a policy that replaces physical mail with scanned digital copies
— meaning prisoners would no longer receive original letters, drawings from their children, cards from loved ones, or any physical mail.
Send personal mail through private third-party vendors
— creating data-collection risks, compromised confidentiality, and questionable storage practices.
Turn letters into low-quality digital reproductions
— often blurry, incomplete, and devoid of the emotional power that comes from receiving something handwritten and real.
The Prison Policy Initiative opposes mail scanning in Illinois, and they have added this critical fight to the Prison Policy Blog to raise national awareness. Their argument is grounded in decades of research: mail scanning does not meaningfully prevent contraband, does not improve safety, and often harms mental health and erodes family connections — one of the strongest predictors of reduced recidivism.
This fight is bigger than Illinois.
If the policy becomes permanent there, it risks becoming the model for other states across the country.
Why Mail Matters: The Human Connection at Stake
People behind bars rely on physical mail for:
- Human connection and emotional stability
- Maintaining relationships with children
- Mental health support
- Cultural and spiritual continuity
- Legal communication that is free from digital surveillance
When states replace letters with digital scans, they are not improving safety — they are deepening isolation.
As Sustainable Action Now continues to track these developments, we reaffirm our position:
Reform cannot coexist with policies that dehumanize. Real change requires restoring dignity, not restricting it.
The Bigger Picture: Reform Wins Are Possible — but Only if We Stop Regressive Policies in Their Tracks
The contrast between a robust national reform agenda and the push for regressive restrictions in Illinois highlights a stark truth about the U.S. criminal legal system:
Progress is not guaranteed. It must be protected, defended, and demanded.
Illinois’ mail-scanning proposal endangers:
- privacy
- family unity
- mental health
- and basic human decency
— all of which undermine long-term reform success.
As we push for sweeping 2026 changes — from sentencing reform to voting rights — we must also stop policies that would move us backward.
What Sustainable Action Now Stands For
Our mission is rooted in clarity:
- End mass incarceration.
- Protect human dignity.
- Expose harmful policies.
- Promote evidence-based reform.
- Amplify voices advocating for justice.
Whether it’s fighting exploitative private prison models, exposing abuses in prisons and jails, or rallying for national reforms, we continue to monitor and report on developments that shape the future of justice in America.
Read more of our reporting and take action at:
👉 https://sustainableactionnow.org/private-prisons/
Conclusion: 2026 Is a Crossroads — and the Time to Act Is Now
The 34 proposed criminal legal reforms for 2026 represent hope — real, actionable, bipartisan opportunities to reshape the system. But at the same time, Illinois’ mail scanning proposal represents a threat — one that could spread nationally if left unchecked.
To build a just future, we must fight on both fronts:
- Pushing forward transformative reforms.
- Stopping policies that strip away humanity.
Change is not passive. It is built through awareness, advocacy, and sustained public pressure.
Sustainable Action Now will continue to shine a light on these issues — and we invite you to join us. Every voice matters. Every reform matters. Every person matters.
The future of justice depends on what we do today.
