Congress returns today from it's summer recess. Given the current atmosphere on Capitol Hill and the past history of being "tough on crime," it is absolutely amazing to me that there looks to be a consensus on passing significant prison reform by year end. I don't want to get my hopes up but it's hard not to!
President Obama has made prison reform a top priority and so have Rep. Boehner and Sen. McConnell. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committe (Sen. Grassley) has said he will have a bill ready right after Labor Day. In addition, key lobbying groups across the political spectrum from the Koch brothers to the ACLU are pushing for legislation. The Bureau of Prisons is also pushing reform.
Why? The US accounts for 25% of the world's prisoners even though it has less than 5% of the world's population. A little bit embarrassing for the "land of the free" wouldn't you say? The number of inmates in federal prisons has increased eightfold to about 210,000 over the past 25 years. The vast majority of the increase is in non-violent, first time drug and white collar offenders. Spending on the federal prison system has increased from $15 billion in 2002 to $80 billion in 2015. There appears to be a bipartisan consensus that the "tough on crime" pendulum has swung too far.
After spending almost eight months here, I could not agree more. The reality is that for almost everyone here, their punishment began long before their prison sentence started. In many cases, they entered prison with nothing. In my humble opinion for the vast majority of inmates here, after a certain point, more time in prison merely reduces the chances of successfully reintegrating into society. These are low risk inmates who are generally unlikely to reoffend. The longer they are here, the more likely their relationships are to break up and their networks fall apart and their skills erode. After a period of time, people forget you are here.
The SAFE Prison Act has been introduced in the House of Representatives and would increase the opportunity for good time for non-violent offenders from the current 15% to approximately 33% and would move from the current "stick" approach to a "carrot" approach (i.e., currently you can only lose your good time while under the proposed bill, you earn the good time by meeting objectives that increase the chances of successful re-entry). In addition, the period of post-incarceration probation can also be shortened by up to 50% if the requirements are consistently met. The bill also reduces mandatory minimums for first time drug offenders. Several states have already implemented similar reforms with no increase in the crime rate.
Although the signing of this bill into law would help me specifically by shaving several months off of the time I must serve, it is also good policy.
Please support the SAFE Prison Act by writing your congressperson and senator as well as supporting the petitions at the following links. Please feel free to share this on Facebook and Twitter as well.
www.justicereformnow.org/safe_justice
www.act.credoaction.com/sign/end_mass_incarceration
Thank you!!!
David
