The Crime Report (https://thecrimereport.org/category/reforming-the-system/)
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is seeking changes that weren’t included in the latest version of the bill. Opponents will try to exclude some inmates from qualifying for reduced sentences. Democrats may abandon the bill if that amendment prevails.
The House followed the Senate in approving a five-year reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA), handing a win to youth advocates who have fought to update the legislation for 16 years. “It’s huge,” says Marcy Mistrett of the Campaign for Youth Justice.
In a breakthrough for criminal justice reform advocates, the Senate will vote on a federal sentencing and prison reform bill that has proved deeply controversial within the Senate Republican ranks. Debate could begin this week.
Almost all the jail growth in the U.S. since 2000 has been in pretrial incarceration, but in St. Louis County, a program that allows more pretrial defendants to be released under supervision has bucked the trend. It’s been a life-changer for Renita Syas.
Only a major overhaul of prosecutors’ traditional practices can remove the long-festering distrust and racism that have alienated many American from the justice system and created a “public safety disaster,’ says a paper addressed to the new crop of district attorneys elected in last month’s midterms.
Every day, in the corridors of most U.S. courts, defense attorneys and prosecutors quietly negotiate plea deals in a system of “underground justice” that often shortchanges defendants. In a conversation with TCR about his new book, Texas scholar William Kelly offers an alternative.
Some 10 million Americans now hold criminal debt totaling over $50 billion, burdened by accumulating court fines and fees they are unable to pay. It’s a hidden practice that damages communities and ruins lives, but the federal government seems to be looking the other way, writes an FSU law professor.
Senate Majority Leader “doesn’t like the bill,” says a key White House ally. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner are continuing to push for a vote this month.
With growing numbers of women incarcerated around the country, some local authorities are developing innovative programs to help ensure they never return once they’re released. Floyd County in southern Indiana opened a jail-based counseling unit this year that appears to hold promise.
A decision to support or oppose the pending bill is a significant policy decision for 2020 hopefuls. The issue has split groups on the left and is sure to come up in presidential primary debates. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (IL), the chief Democratic negotiator, has agreed to move the legislation to the right to mollify Republican critics.