U.S. Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) announced a bipartisan agreement in the Senate Oct. 5 to make landmark changes to the nation’s criminal justice system.
The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 focuses on the disproportionate incarceration rate of minorities across the country and the effect it has on the nation’s finances. With the act also sponsored by Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), John Cornyn (R-TX), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Mike Lee (R-UT), Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), Charles Schumer (D-NY), Tim Scott (R-SC) and Cory Booker (D-NJ), it
would update federal drug sentencing policies by giving federal judges greater discretion at sentencing for non-violent, low-level drug crimes.
Currently, mandatory minimum sentences force judges to impose a one-size-fits-all sentence rather than determining sentences on a case-by-case basis. The goal of the bill is to reduce prison overcrowding, redirect funding to the most important law enforcement efforts and curb recidivism through programs to help prisoners re-enter society.
“Mandatory minimum sentences were once seen as a strong deterrent. In reality they have too often been unfair, fiscally irresponsible and a threat to public safety," Durbin said. "Given tight budgets and overcrowded prison cells, our country must reform these outdated and ineffective laws that have cost American taxpayers billions of dollars. This bill is the best chance in a generation to make meaningful changes in our federal drug sentencing laws. We cannot squander it. Congress should pass this bipartisan legislation to relieve our overcrowded prisons, help keep our communities safe, and ensure the integrity of our justice system.”
The United States has seen a 500 percent increase in the number of inmates in federal prison that has caused the spending on federal incarceration to increase more than 1,100 percent.
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