State and local lawmakers, PA Justice Alliance celebrate recent wins for criminal justice reform in the State House
Rep. Rick Krajewski February 18, 2026 | 1:33 PM
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 18 – City and state lawmakers joined members of the PA Justice Alliance to celebrate passing key criminal justice reforms in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives with significant and historic bipartisan support.
“For too long, the concerns of incarcerated Pennsylvanians have been sidelined and dismissed as infeasible, said state Rep. Rick Krajewski, D-Phila. “But these wins show that our movement has real power in Harrisburg and can build support across party lines for criminal justice reform.”
The Justice Alliance is a coalition of over 30 criminal legal reform organizations, including the Youth Sentencing and Reentry Project, Children First, Straight Ahead, ACLU of PA and more.
Recent legislative wins in the State House include:
- H.B. 144 - Expanding the use of juvenile diversion for nonviolent offenses, which passed the House 153-45.
- H.B. 150 - Updating Pennsylvania's medical release policy in state prisons, which passed the House 111-92
- H.B. 1936 - Ensuring courts consider time served in juvenile jails, which passed the House 111-87.
Advocates stressed how these pieces of legislation provide second chances and generate significant cost savings on corrections, arguments which helped secure unprecedented bipartisan support.
“Our juvenile justice system in Pennsylvania is long overdue for real reform, and these bills represent important steps in the right direction,” said Youth Sentencing & Reentry Project Policy Director Margot Isman. “The average cost to incarcerate a youth is 16 to 24 times greater than the cost of a diversion program. Kids always do better in their communities, and it’s incumbent on the grownups in the system to make that equally possible for all kids across the state.”
“Pennsylvania spent more than $426 million on medical care in the 2023-24 fiscal year. 27% of the prison population are elders and considered geriatric with a vast majority suffering from serious medical conditions and chronic care needs. Many of them, unfortunately, are dying in prison,” said Robert Saleem Holbrook, executive director of Straight Ahead. “HB 150 is a vital bill that offers them a second chance: an opportunity to go in front of a parole board, an opportunity to demonstrate and show that they are not the people that they once were. Too many elders remain incarcerated despite having made the decision to change and seek redemption and rehabilitation. Yet currently they have no avenue to come home. This bill will change that.”
The bills now sit in the Senate, where they await further consideration.
“By building alignment and coordination among criminal justice reform organizations and with our allies in elected office, we have been able to make progress on vital reforms that will bring justice and safety to our communities. Now is the time to take another step forward and move these important bills through the Senate,” said Sean Damon, director of strategic partnerships at Straight Ahead.
“Tens of thousands of working people, Black and Brown people, young people, are needlessly languishing behind bars and our state is losing millions on it,” Krajewski said. “Pennsylvania is one of the most incarcerated states in America and one of the most incarcerated jurisdictions in the world. Our state wastes hundreds of millions of dollars on criminal sentences that are too long and doesn’t provide enough second chances. We're morally and fiscally bankrupting our Commonwealth. It’s time for change.”
Video of the news conference can be found here: PRESS CONFERENCE: Criminal Justice Reform
