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After the Senate passed a bipartite law on criminal justice reform, President Trump said he "looked forward to signing it."
The First Step Act – or the law on incarcerated persons formerly incarcerated has been transformed into complete security. – is basically a directive for the Ministry of Justice to establish a system for assessing the risk of re-offending, as well as for creating housing or other incentives for offenders participate in programs to reduce recidivism.
"This is not for hardened criminals … these are people who really want to reintegrate into society," White House advisor Kellyanne Conway told Fox & Friends earlier this week .
The bill, which was passed by Senate 87-12, culminates years of negotiations and is sure to give a victory to the Trump administration. Conservatives and Liberals, celebrities and Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, worked in Congress halls for months to find a compromise. The House should adopt it later this week.
Sen. Cory Booker, DN.J., announced that the bill was a beginning of a turnaround of the country's "broken" criminal justice system.
"But for the first time in a long time, with the adoption of this bill, our country will break significantly with decades of failed policies that led to mass incarceration, costing billions of dollars taxpayers, knocking out our economy, compromising public safety, harming our children and disproportionately harming communities of color while devaluing the very idea of justice America, "said Booker, a potential candidate for president of 2020.
The bill only concerns federal prisoners, who represent less than 10% of the country's prison population.
Read what has been changed in the bill.
Changing Life Sentences
In order to focus the toughest sentences on the most violent offenders, the bill reduces mandatory minimum sentences for previous drug crimes. Drug offenders convicted three times – or "three strikes" – face 25 years in prison instead of life.
More Judicial Discretion
Federal judges would have more latitude to convict certain drug offenders.
Rehabilitation Efforts
The bill authorizes approximately 2,600 people serving a sentence for cocaine offenses before the month of August 2010. opportunity to apply to a judge for a reduction of sentence.
This also encourages inmates to participate in programs designed to reduce the risk of re-offending, the reward being early release either in house arrest or in a halfway house. Recidivism programs may come from non-profit organizations, faith-based organizations, higher education institutions and private entities.
This option will not be available to offenders who have also been convicted of gun violence, sexual exploitation of children or high-level heroin. and fentanyl treating.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., Said the bill eliminates about sixty different crimes that render ineligible for early release in a halfway house or house arrest.
A credit for good behavior
Prisoners could get a credit of seven days. for good conduct every year of his sentence with this bill – credits being deducted from the sentence to allow early release.
For example, a prisoner serving a 10-year prison sentence who earns the maximum credits each year could be released 70 days earlier. According to the Congressional Budget Office, this change would save $ 414 million over the next 10 years.
In addition, the bill expands the conditions of eligibility for elderly or terminally ill prisoners to obtain compassionate release.
Reaffirmation of Existing Rules
According to the Marshall Project, it also addresses existing laws and regulations and seeks to reaffirm their application.
For example, the bill expressly prohibits the use of restraints for pregnant women, at work or during postpartum recovery. This has been banned since 2008.
In addition, according to The Marshall Project, offenders would be incarcerated for incarcerated offenders within 500 km of their homes or families.
Samuel Chamberlain of Fox News and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
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