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| A way forward on criminal justice reform |
| By washingtonexaminer.com- J.C. Watts, Jr. |
| Published: 11/11/2015 |
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For the first time in nearly a decade, the population of the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) has fallen below 200,000. The drop is historic because it represents a nearly 10 percent reduction from its peak of 219,000 in 2013. Perhaps even more noteworthy is that this decline happened over a period of time when the federal prison population was expected to keep growing. How did we get there? A combination of players — Congress, the Justice Department and the U.S. Sentencing Commission — have all had a role, driven by efforts to correct inequitable and overly punitive sentences for drug offenders. One of my most meaningful accomplishments as a member of Congress was laying the groundwork, in partnership with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, for the passage of the Fair Sentencing Act in 2010, which reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. Since then, the number of sentenced crack offenders has dropped sharply, and their average sentences are lower and more commensurate with the crime. Read More. |
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