(Originally published by The Wall Street Journal on December 17, 2024.)

With President Biden’s pardon for his son and President-elect Trump’s contentious pick to lead the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the unruliness of our justice system has been on display in recent weeks. There are, however, several reasons to be optimistic about the future of criminal-justice reform.

First, Mr. Trump has a proven record of bipartisan reform. While his criminal-justice agenda may include expediting federal executions, even progressives must acknowledge that his first term’s programs were among the most effective at reducing mass incarceration in American history. The First Step Act of 2018 was one of his signature legislative accomplishments.

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