Lawmakers seek end to justice reform stalemate

WASHINGTON—An exorbitant number of inmates languish behind bars in the United States, a problem compounded by high incarceration costs and abysmal recidivism rates.

Some lawmakers have joined advocates’ calls for a drastic overhaul to the justice system, including reforming federal sentencing laws. But without an endorsement from the Trump administration, Congress is taking a more modest approach this year in hopes of making progress after years of inaction.

Reps. Doug Collins (R-Ga.) and Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) would like to see sentencing laws change—particularly for nonviolent drug offenders—but instead are pushing a less controversial prison reform bill to help inmates successfully return to society after serving their time behind bars.

“Prison reform is something we can all get behind,” Collins told me.

Their bill, The Prison Reform and Redemption Act, focuses on rehabilitation and job training ahead of an inmate’s release from federal prison. If passed, it would provide incentives for prisoners to enroll in programs that have a proven track record by establishing a post-sentencing risk-and-needs assessment. Prisoners would have the opportunity to participate in an individualized, evidence-based plan instead of a one-size-fits-all approach.

Craig DeRoche, senior vice president for advocacy and public policy at Prison Fellowship, told me such an obvious improvement should already be common practice in the justice system.

“We’re accepting failure in a system where we should not be accepting failure,” he said. If hospitals made patients sicker or schools took knowledge away from children, Americans would be outraged, he noted, so why is it OK for criminals to leave prison and go back to committing crimes?

Each day the United States incarcerates 2.3 million people, according to the Prison Policy Initiative. Nearly half of U.S. prisoners are incarcerated for nonviolent offenses, including 457,000 drug offenders. More than 625,000 inmates leave prison each year and about two-thirds return to crime within three years of release, according to a January report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

President Donald Trump declared during his State of the Union address in January that the United States needs to embark on an effort to improve those numbers and give people a second chance at life.

In response, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and the Senate Judiciary Committee approved legislation last month to reform sentencing laws.

But Attorney General Jeff Sessions blasted the bill and urged lawmakers to abandon the legislation. In subsequent meetings with the White House, Trump administration officials told lawmakers the president doesn’t support sentencing reform at this time and urged Congress to focus on prison reform instead.

Grassley vowed to keep drumming up support for his sentencing bill in an attempt to secure a full vote in the Senate, but that appears unlikely.

Collins told me he expects the House Judiciary Committee to mark up his legislation after Congress returns from its Easter break in April, with a full vote soon after.

DeRoche said Prison Fellowship would work with other advocacy groups to continue building momentum for criminal justice reforms. A campaign launched last year included left-leaning groups like the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for American Progress, along with conservative organizations like FreedomWorks and the Heritage Foundation.