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| Prison Reform Meets Little Resistance in Senate Hearing |
| By courthousenews.com |
| Published: 10/20/2015 |
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WASHINGTON (CN) - The Senate Judiciary Committee heard few objections Monday to proposed legislation that would reduce prison sentences for low-level, nonviolent drug offenders. Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, introduced the bill this month with strong bipartisan support. President Obama has said he wants such a bill on his desk this year, and promised to sign it if it gets there. Prison reform has become a major public issue as prisons nationwide are bursting at the seams, costing public money, and showing little evidence of making headway in rehabilitation or reducing recidivism. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates told the committee that the costs of unfair prison sentences hurt many more people than the prisoners who serve the time. "Too many children have parents in prison. One in 27 children - one in nine African-American children has a parent behind bars. And this cuts deeply into our society," Yates said. The U.S. prison population has exploded by nearly 800 percent since 1980. Nearly half of federal prisoners are behind bars for nonviolent drug offenses, according to statistics from the Federal Bureau of Prisons. That agency sucks up a quarter to one-third of the Department of Justice budget, Yates said. Read More. |
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