PROGRESS UPDATE
Summer 2024
In August 2022, the nonpartisan Council on Criminal Justice (CCJ) launched the Veterans Justice Commission, a multi-year research, policy development, and communications project that documents and raises awareness of the unique challenges facing veterans in the civilian justice system and builds consensus for evidence-based reforms that enhance safety, health, and justice.
The Commission is an unprecedented group of senior military and criminal justice leaders and public servants with the experience and expertise crucial to diagnosing systemic challenges and developing feasible solutions. Chaired by former U.S. Defense Secretary, U.S. Senator and decorated combat veteran Chuck Hagel, the Commission also includes former U.S. Defense Secretary and White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta, a former Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, the chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court, and two formerly incarcerated veterans. Between the Commission and its subgroups, more than 50 criminal justice and military leaders directly participate in the Commission’s work.
By fall of 2024, the Commission will have generated three sets of evidence-based recommendations for policy and practice, a model policy framework for diverting veterans from prosecution and incarceration, and research shedding light on veteran identification, racial disparities in justice involvement, suicide, health care, and other critical topics.
Commission's Framework Adopted in Nebraska
In spring 2023, the Veterans Justice Commission published the model policy framework, establishing a system of alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for veterans that complements existing veterans treatment courts and creates a continuum of sentencing options for the men and women who’ve served our nation. The framework was adopted as model legislation (the Veterans Justice Act) by the American Legislative Exchange Council in the summer of 2023 and in spring 2024, Nebraska became the first state to adopt it. Gov. Jim Pillen signed LB 253 on April 16, 2024 and similar measures are under consideration in several other states.
Looking Forward
A third and final set of recommendations, focusing on veteran incarceration and reentry, is scheduled for release in late 2024. Over the course of eight meetings, the Commission’s Corrections and Reentry Advisory Committee examined obstacles many veterans face during incarceration and the reentry process and addressed a wide range of topics, including veterans’ housing units, programming, and healthcare needs during incarceration, as well as veterans’ unique needs in preparation for and during reentry and post-release supervision.
Senate and House leaders are planning a hearing for fall 2024 to highlight veterans justice issues and the recommendations of the Commission. Several Veteran Service Organizations joined in support of this hearing, including the VFW, Military Officers Association of America, Student Veterans of America, Disabled American Veterans, and the Vietnam Veterans of America.
As we look to 2025 and beyond, the Veterans Justice Commission’s priority is to amplify its research, findings, and recommendations. Through established channels with leaders in the field and extensive stakeholder outreach, the Council is vigorously disseminating the reports and model policy to policymakers, business leaders, advocates, media, and other stakeholders across the country. Commission leadership has presented to numerous groups, including the National Governor’s Association, Second Chance Business Coalition, Wharton Business School, Business Roundtable, Society for Human Resource Management, Right on Crime, and the Justice Involved Veterans Network. A presentation to the National Conference of State Legislatures is planned for August. Federal and state policymakers are taking note of the Commission’s recommendations and are poised to act.
Combined with this objective is the establishment of a National Center for Veterans Justice. One of the Commission’s first recommendations, the Center is envisioned as an independent public-private partnership that would lead a coordinated effort to identify and replicate best practices to improve outcomes for veterans in the criminal justice system.
Raising Public Awareness
The Commission’s work attracted significant media attention. Coverage includes stories in The New York Times, The Washington Post, MSNBC, and NPR. An Associated Press story appeared in more than 300 outlets, including The Washington Post, CBS News, and ABC News. Other major highlights include stories in The New York Times, NBC News, CNN, The Washington Examiner, Governing, The War Horse, Route Fifty, and the Military Times.
Commission members have authored commentaries for a range of publications, including a piece in USA Today by Chuck Hagel and Eileen Moore highlighting the challenges veterans face upon returning to civilian life, a piece in The Hill from Hagel and Leon Panetta around the 20th anniversary of the launch of Operation Iraqi Freedom and the specific needs of post-9/11 veterans, and an op-ed for Military.com by Carla Bugg that underscored the need to better identify veterans at the front end of the justice system.
HECTOR MATASCASTILLO served 18 years in the U.S. Army and 13 tours of duty in Iraq, but his most difficult battle happened when he came home. On January 24, 2004, Hector had a dissociative flashback and found himself in a standoff on his front lawn with eight police officers, guns drawn. By the time his criminal case made its way to a Minnesota courtroom, the outcome seemed inevitable. But when the judge learned of Hector's military service, he made a life-changing decision: rather than routing the veteran through the traditional criminal justice system with felony charges, the judge took his service into account and instead issued two years of probation and treatment for PTSD. Today, Hector works proudly as a crisis negotiator for police and is completing his PhD to become a forensic psychologist.
Hector’s story highlights the importance of a new policy framework for justice-involved veterans crafted by CCJ’s Veterans Justice Commission. He was recently honored by the Minnesota Vikings as part of the NFL’s Salute to Service, and the commission's framework has been adopted as a national model by an influential group of state legislators.
Earlier Work
Through research and outreach to veterans service organizations and criminal justice stakeholders, the Commission developed and published comprehensive findings and policy proposals focused on two primary areas: the “front end” of the criminal justice system (the stages from arrest through sentencing) and the transition of service members from military to civilian life. Key work includes:
- A preliminary assessment of the challenges facing veterans in the civilian justice system and a video highlighting the key issues
- A first set of recommendations that calls for better identification of veterans at the front end of the justice system, increased diversion of veterans away from prosecution and incarceration, and a national center to advance best practices
- A model policy framework that creates a new system of alternatives to prosecution and incarceration for justice-involved veterans
- A second set of recommendations that calls for risk assessment, joint transition centers, and other actions to boost transition support for service members.
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