Macy wonders how
Ronnie Jones’s life would be different if he’d had help from people like the ones who work for the Equal Justice Initiative (founded by
Bryan Stevenson, author of
Just Mercy). Stevenson helps former prisoners find legitimate work in cities that are more tolerant to ex-felons. He tells Macy that reducing the prison population by 25 percent would save 20 billion dollars, some of which could then be directed toward treatment. He notes that Portugal decriminalized all drugs in 2001 but added housing, food, and job assistance, all of which led to it having the lowest rates of drug use in the European Union.