PRISON FELLOWSHIP: Sentencing Reform

The FIRST STEP Act is now law, but how will it affect America’s incarcerated? And what are our next steps?

  During his first State of the Union address, President Trump declared that former inmates who have served their time deserve a second chance. America is ready for prison reform, but will Washington act?

A new criminal justice reform organization recently surveyed 800 people who have been the victims of violent or property crime in the last 10 years, asking them their opinions on issues surrounding incarceration and alternative sentencing. The answers received reveal quite a bit about the depth of support for justice reform.

Efforts to bring about criminal justice reforms on the federal level have hit upon a bit of a rough patch in recent weeks. With the focus in Washington shifting toward the general elections in November, some members of Congress have determined that maintaining a “tough on crime” approach to criminal justice is beneficial to their reelection efforts, while others have opted to back-burner the issue until their campaigns have concluded.

Prisons, encircled by high walls topped with razor wire, seem to be closed worlds.

It’s easy to keep them out of sight and out of mind. Since prisons are so remote from most people’s daily lives, it can be difficult to recognize the humanity of the men and women inside and to value their rehabilitation and restoration.

"Many of us, and I am one of them, firmly believe that you cannot just lock people up and incarcerate them and expect their substance abuse issues to go away. It's just not working anymore," admitted Massachusetts District Court Justice Mary Heffernan in a recent feature by The Marshall Project on sentencing alternatives for female addicts.

UPDATE: The Senate Judiciary Committee passed the Sentencing and Corrections Act of 2015 on October 22 by a vote of 15 to 5.  The bill now advances to the full Senate for approval.  To contact your Senator to encourage their vote in support of the legislation, click here.