023 Top Priority | Mark Holden on Criminal Justice Reform

Mark Holden, Senior Vice President of Stand Together and advocate for Criminal Justice Reform shares his story, why he's passionate about Criminal Justice Reform, and how we can achieve great reforms for the American experiment when we are willing to unite with any to do good.

Show Notes

Show: 023 Top Priority Podcast | Mark Holden on Criminal Justice Reform 

Host: Duane Lester, Manager of Issue Education, Grassroots Leadership Academy 

Guest: Mark Holden, Senior Vice President, Stand Together and Board member of Americans for Prosperity  

• Why does Mark Holden care about Criminal Justice Reform? min [6:20] 
• Mark Starts his career as a prison guard and now finds himself advocating for CJR with Snoop Dog | Koch Industries’ Prison Reform Warrior min [17:01] 

. . . solutions are possible if – together – we embrace the wisdom of Frederick Douglass, which for years has guided our organization’s efforts in public policy: “I would unite with anybody to do right, and with nobody to do wrong. min [21:21] 

• How serious are the unintended consequences of Overcriminalization? min [30:14] 
• Mark’s good friend Alice Marie Johnson min [36:11] 

Additional Resources  

• Families Against Mandatory Minimums – FAMM 
• Reason Foundation 
• Mark Holden issues a celebratory statement on the first anniversary of the First Step Act 
• Adversaries, Mark Holden and Van Jones, unite to achieve historic criminal justice reform 
• Ep 002 Top Priority | Overcriminalization & Criminal Justice Reform 
• Ep 003 Top Priority | Policing & Criminal Justice Reform 
• Ep 004 Top Priority | Qualified Immunity & Criminal Justice Reform 
• Ep 006 Top Priority | The Trial Process & Criminal Justice Reform 
• Ep 009 Top Priority | The Sentencing Process & Criminal Justice Reform 
• Ep 011 Top Priority | The Prison and Reentry Process & Criminal Justice Reform 
• Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption by Bryan Stevenson 
• Three Felonies A Day: How the Feds Target the Innocent by Harvey Silverglate 
• How to Become a Federal Criminal: An Illustrated Handbook for the Aspiring Offender by Mike Chase 
• Radly Balko’s WaPo piece 
• Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America’s Police Forces by Radley Balko  

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.