Prison Fellowship Releases State Legislator FIRST STEP Act Support Letter

WASHINGTON, DC—Prison Fellowship^®, the nation's largest outreach to prisoners, former prisoners, and their families, and a leading advocate for criminal justice reform, released the following statement after issuing a letter signed by dozens of state legislators in support of the FIRST STEP Act—prison reform legislation that models many successful state reforms. The legislation passed overwhelmingly in the U.S. House of Representatives in May and now awaits a vote in the Senate with new sentencing provisions.

"As demonstrated by this letter signed by nearly 50 state legislators, the FIRST STEP Act is federalism at its finest," said Craig DeRoche, senior vice president of advocacy and public policy. "This FIRST STEP Act will align the federal system with the criminal justice reform success already experienced in the laboratories of democracy, particularly red states. All eyes are on Washington to get this done. Prison Fellowship believes this bill can pass with an overwhelming bipartisan vote and that the enactment of the FIRST STEP Act will pave the way for more values-driven reforms to come."

The bipartisan prison reform legislation would improve programming in federal prisons that will better prepare men and women to become productive citizens through individualized risk assessments by expanding recidivism-reducing programs for all federal prisoners. The sentencing reforms added to the legislation would make minor adjustments to correct disproportional sentencing enhancements and increase judicial discretion in certain federal drug offense cases.