Civic Register
| 6.3.20

What is Criminal Justice Reform?

Do you support criminal justice reform?

BACKGROUND

Criminal justice reform is a term that applies to efforts aimed at revising federal criminal laws. In recent decades, criminal justice reform efforts have transitioned from being primarily focused on increasing federal penalties for a variety of offenses, to reducing penalties & emphasizing initiatives to reduce incarceration and help inmates prepare for life outside of prison.


OVERVIEW

The increasing support for criminal justice reform aimed at reducing incarceration & overcriminalization in recent years comes after several decades of a prevailing trend that favored reforms toward stronger penalties.

The first major crime bill of the modern era was enacted in 1968 on a bipartisan basis and signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson. Known as the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968, it was the centerpiece of LBJ’s “war on crime” and established grant programs to fund training for state & local law enforcement personnel; created special units to combat organized crime; increased funding for riot control training; and established grants for law enforcement research.

In 1984, the Comprehensive Crime Control Act was approved by Congress on a bipartisan basis and signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, which included sentencing enhancements for felons who commit weapons crimes three or more times; established the U.S. Sentencing Commission; and increased federal penalties for marijuana offenses. Another bipartisan bill, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act, established mandatory minimum sentences for drug convictions, including crack cocaine.

Congress in 1990 passed another Crime Control Act on a bipartisan basis that was signed into law by President George H.W. Bush, which further strengthened penalties for the use of firearms in the commission of a crime; enhanced penalties for child abuse & sexual abuse; strengthened enforcement of drug laws; and expanded the death penalty for federal crimes.

The Violent Crime Control & Law Enforcement Act (aka “The Crime Bill), the largest & arguably most controversial crime bill in U.S. history, was signed into law in 1994 by President Bill Clinton. Drafted by then-Sen. Joe Biden (D-DE) and Rep. Jack Brooks (D-TX), the bill got some bipartisan support, although it was supported by a majority of Democrats & opposed by majority of Republicans in both the House & Senate. For example, it was supported by current House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) & Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and opposed by current Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY). 

The Crime Bill enacted several provisions that have proven controversial in the decades since it became law, including a “three-strikes law” that established mandatory life sentences for offenders who committed a severe violent felony after receiving two other prior convictions; an elimination of higher education for inmates; a ban on “assault weapons” (which expired in 2004); a significant expansion of the federal death penalty; and grant incentives for building & expanding correctional facilities if violent offenders serve at least 85% of their sentences. 

Some of its less contentious provisions included the establishment of the Violence Against Women Act to increase resources for addressing & preventing domestic violence; the creation of an offender registry for those convicted of child & sex crimes; and grants for state & local law enforcement to expand community policing.

Due to the three strikes law & funding for larger correctional facilities, the longer term impact of the Crime Bill was a substantial increase in the number of Americans incarcerated for life, which disproportionately included black Americans who were convicted of repeated drug crimes. When the Crime Bill was enacted in 1994, the incarcerated population was 1,476,600. By the time it peaked in 2008 it had grown to 2,310,300 ― a 56% increase from 1994 as this chart from USAFacts shows.

In response to the perceived excesses of the Crime Bill, political momentum for criminal justice reform began to grow during the administration of President George W. Bush, and he signed the Second Chance Act into law in 2008 after it received bipartisan support in the House & unanimous backing in the Senate. The bill aimed to reduce recidivism by offenders reentering society and expand compassionate release of elderly inmates who meet certain conditions.

During the administration of President Barack Obama, Congress made a degree of progress on broader criminal justice reform as bipartisan reforms were drafted in the Senate by Sens. Cory Booker (D-NJ) & Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and in the House by Reps. Bobby Scott (D-VA) & Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) ― but the legislation didn’t receive a vote. 

The progress they made laid the bipartisan foundations for criminal justice reform legislation to be enacted during the administration of President Donald Trump in the form of the First Step Act.


WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP ACT?

The Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person (First Step) Act was drafted by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Mike Lee (R-UT). It passed Congress with broadly bipartisan votes of 87-12 in the Senate and 358-36 in the House, and was signed into law by President Donald Trump on December 21, 2018.

The First Step Act reformed sentencing guidelines and reduced the “three-strike” mandatory penalty of life imprisonment to 25 years and also reduced mandatory minimums for drug felons. It also increased judicial discretion in the sentencing process; and broadened the “safety valve” to reduce sentences for non-violent, low-level drug offenders below mandatory minimums.

The First Step Act also included prison reforms for the purpose of improving conditions for inmates by requiring that they be placed at a correctional facility within 500 driving miles of their primary residence, unless the prisoner chooses to remain at a different facility or has a security designation higher than the security level of the closer-to-home prison. It codified existing regulations that generally prohibited the use of restraints on pregnant inmates into law; restricted the use of juvenile solitary confinement; expanded the federal prison industries program to provide inmates with more employment opportunities; and initiated programs for youth mentorship & training rescue therapy dogs & required evaluation of a program to treat heroin & opioid abuse.

Additionally, as the First Step Act’s title implies, it also includes numerous programs aimed at easing the reentry process for prisoners and reducing the likelihood of recidivism (e.g. reoffending & returning to prison). It required the Bureau of Prison to conduct risk- and needs-assessments for every offender upon sentencing and offer individualized, evidence-based recidivism reduction plans to all inmates. Programs offered as part of those plans could include vocational training, educational support, substance abuse treatment, mental healthcare, anger management courses, faith-based initiatives, or other proven & productive activities.

Under the First Step Act, low- and minimum-risk inmates were allowed to earn time credits toward prerelease custody or supervised release (such as at a halfway house or home confinement) at the end of the prison sentences. Inmates earn 10 days of credit for each 30 day period of participation in recidivism reduction programs, while eligible prisoners whose recidivism risk hasn’t increased over their last two assessments get an additional 5 days of credit. 

Inmates can only be placed in supervised release for a maximum of 12 months and their release would be revoked if they commit a non-technical violation of the terms of their release. Certain groups of inmates would be ineligible for time credits if they were convicted of violent crimes, child exploitation, domestic assault that resulted in substantial bodily harm, organizing or managing opioid or methamphetamine trafficking, human trafficking, terrorism, and other significant offenses.

Following the First Step Act’s enactment, federal inmates who met its qualifications began to be released from prison. One of the first inmates to be released from federal prison under the First Step Act was Matthew Charles, who served 21 years of a 35 year sentence for selling crack cocaine. He completed college courses while in prison, faced no disciplinary action, and mentored other prisoners.

There have been bipartisan expressions of support by President Donald Trump, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), and numerous other lawmakers in favor of a “Next Step Act” that would build upon the successes of the First Step Act, although discussion is still in a relatively early stage and bipartisan support hasn’t yet coalesced around new criminal justice reform legislation.


COVID-19 UPDATE

During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, corrections officials have utilized early & compassionate release authorities under the Second Chance Act & First Step Act to allow inmates with a lower risk of recidivism who have conditions that put them at higher risk of contracting a severe case COVID-19 to enter supervised release.


RESOURCES


— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / SPmemory)