To all the governors out there, follow the president's lead. Start robustly using your executive clemency powers to reduce your state's prison population. Release those non-violent offenders who don't need to be serving their entire natural lives in prison.

Police officers in the U.S.A. are not better or worse than in Germany or Great Britain. What determines the conduct of an average police officer is the political and organizational climate in which they operate.

For decades, "tough on crime" policies contributed to the explosive growth of the prison population -- and the amount of money we spend on locking people up.

The decision to empathize with a person who has caused harm is a deeply personal one. We are asking you, however, to think about what happened to Ryan Loskarn, think about the laws, and think about the way society and the media contributes to hatred and hysteria.

The war on drugs has created convenient vehicles for looking tough on crime while hiding being the shield of public safety. But that shield gets worn down when our basic rights are curtailed through its use.