Question

We also make terrible mistakes. Scores of innocent people have been exonerated after being sentenced to death and nearly executed. Hundreds more have been released after being proved innocent of noncapital crimes through DNA testing. Presumptions of guilt, poverty, racial bias, and a host of other social, structural, and political dynamics have created a system that is defined by error, a system in which thousands of innocent people now suffer in prison.

–Just Mercy,
Bryan Stevenson

Which conclusion can most logically be drawn from the details that both excerpts provide about criminal justice reform?

Criminal justice reform will be most successful if it is left up to local governments.
Successful criminal justice reform will require a coordinated effort from multiple institutions and communities.
Identifying the causes of injustice will have little effect on criminal justice reform efforts.
Criminal justice reform must begin with law enforcement accepting responsibility for past misdeeds.

Answer 1

Successful criminal justice reform will require a coordinated effort from multiple institutions and communities.

Reason: the excerpt names many interacting causes (presumptions of guilt, poverty, racial bias, social/structural/political dynamics), implying the problem is systemic and therefore needs broad, coordinated action—beyond just local governments, individual blame, or merely identifying causes.