Canvassing GOP discussion and perspectives on criminal justice reform in run up to 2024

This new Time piece, headlined "DeSantis Moves to Trump's Right on Criminal Justice," provides an interesting overview of how GOP candidates and GOP voters are looking at criminal justice issues.  I recommend the full piece, and here are excerpts:

DeSantis’ move to the right on criminal justice reform in part reveals that violent crime can be a fruitful focus for Republican primary candidates, and allows him to draw a contrast with Trump, the current frontrunner in the race. Amid DeSantis’ pressure, Trump has begun backing away from what he used to tout as a major legislative victory. When Fox News asked Trump in June about sentencing reform, he spoke of a new proposal to punish drug dealers with the death penalty.

Yet DeSantis’ position is more extreme than the views of most Republican primary voters, experts say.  “Right now, the political rhetoric may be tough, but that doesn’t change where the base is,” says Micah Derry, CEO of the Adams Project, which is focused on conservative criminal justice reform.  ”That’s important for people to understand — that the base hasn’t moved.  They want a safe community, to support law enforcement, want people held accountable, and they want to know that there is a pathway for rehabilitation.”

The Adams Project published a poll on July 6 examining conservative views on safety and crime.  More than 80% of focus group participants supported the idea that a criminal justice system must allow incarcerated people to “have the chance to get the skills and training necessary to pursue a better path after prison.”  It also found that GOP voters responded negatively to messages that attack the First Step Act, noting that the provisions “almost perfectly matched” or were “pretty close” to views of 86% of Republicans.  Focus group members referred to them as “attacks on Trump” and “political posturing.”  Many focus group members viewed the traditional “tough-on-crime” approach as dated and out of touch and emphasized the importance of second chances....

Not all criminal justice reform has been popular with Republicans, especially measures tied to defunding the police, bail reform, or shortening long sentences even for violent offenders.  But proposals tied to the idea of second chances and helping people who have been incarcerated transition back into society have gotten more support.