Criminal Justice Reform Hasty, Ill-Conceived

A group of GOP congressmen and law enforcement officials came together on Capitol Hill Wednesday to warn against the dangerous federal criminal justice reform legislation currently being considered in the Senate.

Sens. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and David Vitter (R-La.), and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas) — joined by a former director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, the president of the National Association of United States Attorneys, and representatives from the FBI Agents Association and National Sheriffs’ Association, including Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke — were there to protest what they say is hasty and ill-considered sentencing reform.

“The misrepresentation of this problem as innocent, low-level people being convicted for federal crimes and being sent away for 10 years is an unpardonable lie.”

“This legislation is an irresponsible catastrophe,” said John Walters, former director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy under George W. Bush. “It’s been sold to the American people and to many people on the Hill as a just correction of a too-harsh criminal justice system. That’s a lie, and the people standing behind me I know have seen the faces of the victims and know how big a lie this is,” he said.

Attempts at criminal justice reform made in 2013 and 2015 failed, but a revised version of the 2015 Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act that was reintroduced in the Senate last week looks like it may have enough support to pass — and there was indeed a marked air of urgency at Wednesday’s press conference.

“The misrepresentation of this problem as innocent, low-level people being convicted for federal crimes and being sent away for 10 years is an unpardonable lie,” said Walters.

Proponents of the current bill claim it has been amended to prevent the release of violent offenders. “We ensured that violent criminals and those who have been hardened by a life of crime will stay in prison, while addressing the ballooning prison population that too often only perpetuates a life of crime,” claimed Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas).

But Walters and the others stressed that not only is the drug trade by its nature inherently violent and dangerous — and all too costly in innocent lives — but also that true “low-level” offenders would not find themselves in federal prisons serving mandatory minimum sentences, and that the majority of those who would be released are in fact dangerous, violent criminals.

In order to receive a 10-year mandatory sentence, one must be convicted of trafficking at least 1,000 kilograms — more than one ton — of marijuana, over 5 kilograms of cocaine, or at least a one kilogram of heroin, explained Steve Cook, president of the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys.

Not only does the current proposed legislation fail to ensure dangerous criminals are not released from prison, but it also does effectively nothing to address the large U.S. prison population, as there are only 196,000 criminals in federal prisons. Over a third of those are non-U.S. citizens, said Walters.

“The size of the prison population is often cited as a justification for lowering federal sentences,” noted Smith. “But federal prisoners make up only 13 percent of the total prison population, which is at a 10-year low and is less than one half of one percent of the United states population.”

Moreover, there are already significant reductions in the federal prison population underway. “The latest revision of sentencing guidelines downward is going to result in the release of 46,000 federal prisoners over time,” Vitter said.

“That’s 46,000 out of a present total of about 196,000. You’re talking about 25 percent — that is a major downsizing of the federal prison population and the present system that’s going on right now without any of this legislation,” he said.

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But both Walters and Sheriff Clarke — who called the legislation “criminal-friendly” — also pointed out correctly that even attempts at releasing actual low-level offenders at the state level ultimately resulted  in more crimes and more victims.

In 2011, Connecticut passed the Risk Reduction Earned Credit law, allowing prisoners to earn time off their sentences by participating in educational and treatment programs in prison. The disastrous effects of the law were quickly evident.

In New London, Connecticut, crime skyrocketed after the passage of the RREC law. From 2012-2013, burglaries in the city increased by 34 percent, while robberies increased by 48 percent. Rapes nearly doubled.

“Criminal law should punish bad behavior, deter criminal acts, and protect the American people,” said Smith. “Releasing prisoners before their sentences are served undermines these goals, and guarantees more innocent victims.”