06/08/2026
“Are we crazy, stupid, or cruel?”
That was the question Augusta Circuit District Attorney Jared Williams put before us at today’s LWVCSRA Annual Meeting, where our theme was Justice Revisited.
He reminded us of the old definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.
Then he challenged us to look honestly at a system that too often uses the same tools — jail, prison, probation, punishment, and reaction — for problems rooted in substance use, mental health, trauma, poverty, youth violence, and lack of opportunity.
He pointed to Tucson, where specialized mental health response teams are trained to respond to people in crisis with fewer uses of force and better outcomes. He pointed to Germany’s juvenile justice model, where the focus is not simply on punishment, but on rehabilitation, education, life skills, and preparing young people to return to society.
His point was not theoretical. Other communities have made different choices. Other systems have been built around prevention, treatment, intervention, education, and rehabilitation.
So the challenge is ours, too.
If we know the current system is not producing the results we claim to want, why do we keep defending it?
That is one reason LWVCSRA formed a Justice Reform Task Force: to study these issues, educate voters, build partnerships, and advocate for systems that are more transparent, more humane, and more focused on reducing harm before it happens.
Time for the choir has to sing.
