Sentencing Reform is Alive and Well February 6, 2015
Posted by FairSentencing in : Current News , trackbackJulie Stewart spoke today about sentencing reform
Sentencing reform is alive and well! This week in Congress, identical sentencing reform bills were introduced in the House and Senate that would take a bite out of mandatory minimum sentences! The bills are called The Justice Safety Valve Act of 2015. They would give the court the ability to go below the mandatory minimum sentence when that sentence is clearly excessive for the defendant.
The main sponsors of the bills are Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rand Paul (R-KY), and Representatives Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Robert Scott (D-VA). In 2012, these four men introduced the same bill, which died at the end of the last Congress. Now, they are the first to introduce a sentencing reform bill in the new Congress, which started January 1, 2015. They are committed to making sentencing laws fairer, stemming the growth of federal prison, and reducing the tax burden of unnecessary incarceration.And we love them for that!
The best way to thank them is to encourage your own Senator and Representative to support the Justice Safety Valve Act. Click here for a helpful email you can send to your Members of Congress.
It’s exciting that sentencing reform is one of the few issues in Congress that has bipartisan support! We just have to make sure they do more than pay lip service to it! You can help by hounding your members of Congress. Don’t forget – they work for YOU!
Loading ...
Comments»
Please take measure eleven off the books and give first time offenders a lighter sentence , make them able to get back to their jobs and paying taxes. Our jails are full of people that don’t need to be in there
I hope this is changed!
I agree. This he said/she said with no proof and being treated like all others is not right. This had to be changed. It has to be case by case.
My son was just given 10 years for one incident that happened when he was 15 with his cousin. My sister brought charges 10 years later out of spite for something else. Now, he has lost his kids to the DHS system because of it. This bill needs to be changed. Mandatory sentencing cannot be used as a blanket measure. Too many people are getting hurt by it.
My oldest grandson was just given 10 years for one incident that happened when he was 15 with his cousin. Our daughter brought charges 10 years later out of spite for something else. Now, he has lost his 2 sons to the DHS system because of it. As grandparents we have now lost our youngest daughter, 2 granddaughters, 3 grandsons and 2 great-grandsons. This bill needs to be changed. Mandatory sentencing cannot be used as a blanket measure. It is destroying the entire lives of too many families.
This concerns Measure 11 and how it is written. It is a “one-size fits all” bill which, as it turns out is probably not what it was meant to be.
To me a person is incarcerated for 3 basic reasons: punishment, rehabilitation or to protect society.
My oldest grandson was just given 10 years for one incident that happened when he was 15 with his cousin. Our grandson is not a habitual offender to be rehabilitated and is not a menace to society so that just leaves punishment. He has already spent 14 months incarcerated which should be more than enough time in this case because of his age at the time of the offense. He received a sentence of 10 years because of the minimum mandatory sentencing. Our daughter brought charges 10 years later out of spite for something else. Now, he has lost his 2 sons to the DHS system because of it. As grandparents we have now lost our youngest daughter, 2 granddaughters, 3 grandsons and 2 great-grandsons. This bill needs to be changed. Mandatory sentencing cannot be used as a blanket measure. It is destroying the entire lives of too many families.
This needs to be removed. My son was in trouble in Fl then moved to Or. There were 13 years between arrests. Since then every time he gets in trouble they bring in his arrest in Fl from when he was 18. He is now 41. He was just sentenced again to almost 8 yrs day for day. He was already sentenced to drug rehab by the judge. After 9 days in rehab he was then arrested for something from 15 months prior and again threw in his behavior at the age of 18. Now he has 4 children and he is serving day for day for 8 years
What is wrong ? It’s about money .Taxpayer support long sentences for nothing. false accusations put those in jail. The DOC making money for growing population in jail.The reality is true sex offender are outside . Oregon law and measure 11 is the perfect machine whose in charge in jail especially in Two Rivers correctional institution Oregon