{"id":30934,"date":"2018-08-10T15:39:48","date_gmt":"2018-08-10T19:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/?p=30934"},"modified":"2018-08-10T15:39:48","modified_gmt":"2018-08-10T19:39:48","slug":"white-house-seeks-traction-on-criminal-justice-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalcenter.org\/ncppr\/2018\/08\/10\/white-house-seeks-traction-on-criminal-justice-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"White House Seeks Traction on Criminal Justice Reform"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a roundtable discussion<\/a>\u00a0earlier this week with governors, state attorneys general and members of his cabinet, President Donald Trump sought to broker a compromise for federal legislation on criminal justice reform.<\/p>\n

In particular, the President sought to gain traction for the\u00a0\u201cFIRST STEP Act\u201d<\/a>\u00a0that already overwhelmingly passed in the U.S. House of Representatives last May. Officially tasked with creating a federal \u201crisk and needs assessment system to assess and classify the recidivism risk of prisoners; to guide housing, grouping, and program assignments and to incentivize and reward participation in and completion of recidivism reduction programs and productive activities,\u201d the bill \u2013 a project for presidential advisor and son-in-law Jared Kushner \u2013 seeks to lower recidivism rates through training and mentoring while offering prison reforms and early-release options for model behavior.<\/p>\n

A July poll<\/a>\u00a0commissioned by the group In Pursuit Of found 70 percent support of the FIRST STEP Act among \u201clikely voters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Senator Mike Lee, who was in attendance at this week\u2019s roubdtable, called<\/a>\u00a0it a \u201cgreat meeting\u201d in which \u201cmeaningful progress\u201d was made.In an earlier D.C. meeting on the same topic, Senator Lindsay Graham also called the potential for progress in the Senate \u201cpromising.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0The FIRST STEP Act has thus far been stalled in the Senate, and a competing Senate bill lost momentum after being criticized<\/a>\u00a0by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Possible compromises for a Senate version could\u00a0include<\/a>\u00a0lowering mandatory minimum sentences.<\/p>\n

Long before this recent round of discussion, members of the National Center\u2019s Project 21<\/a> black leadership network were talking about the FIRST STEP Act and a more forgiving manner toward certain redemptive inmates.<\/p>\n

\"Council<\/p>\n

Written at the time President Trump issued<\/a>\u00a0a posthumous pardon to Jack Johnson and a pardon to Dinesh D\u2019Souza, in addition to commuting the sentence of Alice Marie Johnson and others, Project 21 Co-Chairman Council Nedd II<\/a> \u2013 a Pennsylvania State Constable in addition to being an archbishop in the Episcopal Missionary Church \u2013 wrote a commentary<\/a>\u00a0about prison system issues that was published by the Daily Caller:<\/p>\n

There are days when jail officials ask me not to bring in another prisoner because there are already too many people incarcerated for nonviolent or low-level offenses.<\/p>\n

As a clergyman, I counsel those who have run afoul of the law but want a fresh start.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Council noted that the President\u2019s pardons and his pushing for criminal justice reform \u201centails risk,\u201d but that \u201cPresident Trump has repeatedly demonstrated he is not averse to taking risks, political or otherwise, when the cause is right and in the best interest of our nation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a far cry,\u201d Council insisted, \u201cfrom creating a culture of permissiveness fostering an escalation of bad behavior.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Likewise, Project 21 member Emery McClendon<\/a> wrote that \u201ca stronger emphasis on reforming the system to correct these disparities\u201d of not focusing on reform and reduced recidivism \u201cshould be employed to immediately ease the stress right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a Politichicks-published commentary<\/a>, Emery suggested:<\/p>\n

There\u2019s a serious problem of prison overcrowding and the incarceration of people \u2013 especially blacks \u2013 for minor convictions such as drug use rather than\u00a0drug dealing. There are also those Project 21 has mentioned who languish simply because they lack the ability to pay a fine.\u00a0President Trump could make a profound statement by pardoning or commuting sentences like he just did for Alice Marie Johnson.\u00a0They say doing so could alleviate stress on our prison system and allow it to better address those convicted of more serious offenses.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

As Emery mentioned, Project 21 offers recommendations on criminal justice reform as part of its \u201cBlueprint for a Better Deal for Black America.\u201d<\/a>\u00a0The Blueprint is a 57-point planfor removing barriers blocking blacks from empowerment and ensuring they have a chance to attain the American Dream.<\/p>\n

\"\"There are ten specific Project 21 proposals<\/a> in its Blueprint to give black Americans a better deal through reforming the criminal justice system:<\/p>\n