Language changes naturally over time, but the shift from “criminal” to “justice-involved person” did not come about through natural linguistic development. Rather, leftist academics, political activists, and bureaucrats contrived the new term, and left-wing journalists parroted it. The two terms reflect two different cultures: one in which people have moral agency, another in which they do not. Criminals break the law and deserve punishment. “Justice-involved persons” are passive characters; if active at all, they sound as though they pursue justice. And only a cruel society would punish someone for pursuing justice.
Speechless: Controlling Words, Controlling Minds, by Michael Knowles, p 48