Fair and Just Prosecution pursued St. Louis County Prosecutor Wesley Bell like an aggressive prosecutor before he would agree to join its international learning trip to Berlin, Germany and Lisbon, Portugal, which is currently underway.
Bell is attending in a group of 20 prosecutors from across the United States, including two of special interest to him, Larry Krasner of Philadelphia and Rachael Rollins of Boston. In Berlin they will study Germany’s charging and plea bargaining approaches, rates and length of incarceration, youth justice practices and conditions of confinement. In Lisbon they will learn about models of decriminalization and public health responses to drug use.
The trip is paid for by Fair and Just Prosecution, which “brings together newly elected local prosecutors as part of a network of leaders committed to promoting a justice system grounded in fairness, equity, compassion, and fiscal responsibility,” according to a release.
Miriam Aroni Krinsky, founder and executive director, explained to The American why she kept pursuing Bell when he was initially reluctant to leave the county (and country) so early in his term – particularly in a region where black elected officials who travel to gain new perspectives tend to get attacked in the mainstream media.
“The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate in the world, and Missouri’s incarceration rate is even higher than the national one. Germany and Portugal offer a different paradigm for reducing incarceration, embracing public health models and prioritizing diversion – and there’s no substitute for seeing these systems in person,” Krinsky told The American.
“Wesley Bell is part of a generation of inspiring new leaders committed to bringing new thinking to the justice system; that is why we felt he could benefit from this invaluable opportunity to see a different starting point in action, and we have no doubt he will put what he learns abroad to good use in promoting reforms that benefit the St. Louis community.”
Bell told The American that Krinsky convinced him that outside perspectives could help him improve criminal justice in the St. Louis region.
“Part of what got us in this situation in this region was not looking to the outside,” Bell told The American. “We get caught in our own culture and don’t look at what other jurisdictions do right or wrong. The county has debtors’ prisons, and we have that culture in part because of a lack of looking at other jurisdictions.”
Fair and Just Prosecution explained why these destinations were chosen in a release.
“After making a deliberate choice to reduce incarceration in recent decades, Germany now diverts almost all people away from prison. Germany’s system also treats kids like kids with a strong focus on rehabilitation and places human dignity at the center of its correctional philosophy,” Fair and Just Prosecution stated.
“Portugal similarly has embraced a different criminal justice starting point than the U.S. and decriminalized all drugs in 2001. This policy shift resulted in significant reductions in Portugal’s drug-related death toll and produced other positive public health outcomes – and offers a dramatic rebuttal to the “War on Drugs” thinking that has permeated past justice system choices in the U.S.”
Bell is looking forward to learning from his fellow travelers – especially Krasner from Philadelphia and Rollins from Boston – as much as from the systems in Germany and Portugal.
“I am looking forward to picking the brains of other prosecutors across the country and looking at more ideas and reforms and then bringing them back to St. Louis County to improve the region,” Bell told The American.
Until he returns on May 17, Bell will remain in contact with Chief of staff Sam Alton and other members of his leadership team, including Mike Wolff and Robert Steele. “Those primary individuals will be making decisions through me,” Bell said.
And, he emphasized, “It’s not going to cost the county any money.”
