Top Priority | Ideas for Human Flourishing

Learn why the Stand Together Community is involved in the issue of Overcriminalization, our Community position on Criminal Justice Reform, and how the Stand Together Community views Overcriminalization through the lens of our Vision and the four mutually reinforcing principles: Equal Rights | Mutual Benefit | Openness | Self-Actualization.

Show Notes

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Show: 002 Top Priority Podcast | Overcriminalization, Criminal Justice Reform Priority Initiative  
Date Recorded: December 17, 2019 
Host: Duane Lester, Manager of Issue Education, Grassroots Leadership Academy 
Guests: Vikrant Reddy, Senior Fellow, Charles Koch Institute

Show Notes & Timestamps
  • Why should Americans care about Overcriminalization? min [1:31]

The average American commits three felonies per day because the penal code is so vast, expansive, and unknowable at the federal, state, and local level. min [2:30]

 “Show me the man and I’ll show you the crime.” 
 —Lavrentiy Beria, the ruthless and brutal secret police chief to Joseph Stalin—
  • Why is the Stand Together Community involved in Criminal Justice Reform and reducing Overcriminalization? min [3:27]
  • What is the difference between criminal law and civil law? min [5:05]
  • Our Community believes two criteria must be met for a law to be a criminal law min [6:20]: 
**Click here for a printable and clickable pdf download of the show notes from this episode.**

The violation must have, (1) an identifiable victim —AND— (2) a direct victim
**Overcriminalization creates a perverse incentive system for unequal application of the law.** 

“If you don’t know what the law is, it is impossible to obey it.” —Vikrant Reddy— 

Read: Share a commitment to justice

**Click here for a printable and clickable pdf download of the show notes from this episode.**

What is Top Priority | Ideas for Human Flourishing?

We have a deep belief in people and promote ideas of human flourishing.

Top Priority is a collection of interactive, learning-oriented conversations on how the Stand Together Community engages with and advocates for solutions through the lens of our Community Vision: We transform society by breaking the internal and external barriers that prevent people from realizing their potential, enabling all people to improve their lives and find fulfillment by helping others do the same.

The Stand Together Community Vision is guided by four, mutually reinforcing principles: Equal Rights | Mutual Benefit | Openness | Self-Actualization

Explore the free and civil society through the lens of each of these four mutually reinforcing principles and stand together to help every person rise.

Top Priority is a production of the Americans for Prosperity Foundation's Grassroots Leadership Academy, where we make Human Flourishing a top priority.