Trump has been talking about prison reform for a while now, and yesterday he held a news conference in which he put his support behind a bill which would do just that.
Here's some highlights of the bill:
- Nearly all incarcerated Americans will one day leave prison, and the goal of this legislation is to make sure they do not return.
- The FIRST STEP Act uses a targeted approach toward a specific population of Federal prisoners who will eventually be released.
- The FIRST STEP Act will promote prisoner participation in vocational training, educational coursework, or faith-based programs, and in turn help them successfully reenter society.
- Prisoners will be able to earn credits that reduce the amount of time spent in prison.
- As a result, prisoners will gain job skills, drug treatment, and education that prepare them to reenter American communities as productive members of society.
- The legislation also seeks to place Federal inmates closer to their communities in order to facilitate family visitation.
- This is a true first step in creating a fairer justice system by reforming mandatory minimums, which have created racially discriminatory outcomes and increased overcrowding and costs.
- The legislation reduces the enhanced penalties for certain non-violent repeat drug offenders and eliminates the three-strike mandatory life provision.
- Certain nonviolent offenders will be able to petition courts for a review of their sentence, which can be reduced only after the judge reviews all circumstances, including public safety, criminal history, and the nature of the offense.
- We can improve society for all by better equipping prisoners being released for successful reintegration into society.
- Today, one in three American adults has some type of criminal record and more than two million Americans are in prisons, including 181,000 in Federal prison.
- More than 95% of these prisoners will eventually leave prison and face the challenge of restarting and reintegrating their lives.
- Our prisons can do much more to prepare inmates for release, addressing the fact that roughly 77% of State inmates and 38% of Federal inmates are rearrested within five years of release.
As expected, many leading Democrats have opposed the bill, even though it's one of the issues they have been promising to address for years.
The problem? It would mean supporting something Trump supports. Also, it doesn't address sentencing reform. Dems want both, not just prison reform. These obstructionists want to wait until they get their POTUS and Congress so they get the credit with the minority voting bloc. They do
not want to give Trump both a major legislation which will positively affect minorities and a major bi-partisan legislative win.
The bill passed the House by a landslide, 360-59, vote and is waiting to be voted by the Senate.
Text of Bill
First Step Act Website
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