DATE: July 23, 2015
TO: Concerned Parties
FROM: Hilary O. Shelton, Director, NAACP Washington Bureau
Sensenbrenner-‐Scott Over-‐Criminalization Task Force Safe, Accountable, Fair, Effective, Justice Reinvestment Act Of 2015 Tackles The Issues Of
Over-‐Incarceration, Growing Prison Population And Costs H.R. 2944 APPLIES LESSONS LEARNED BY THE STATES TO THE
FEDERAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
THE ISSUE: Since 1980, Congress has steadily increased the size and scope of the federal criminal code and with it significantly increased the federal prison population. In the past 35 years, the federal government has added an estimated 2,000 new crimes to the books, while the federal imprisonment rate has grown by an astounding 518%. During the same period, annual spending on the federal prison system rose 595%, from $970 million to more than $6.7 billion, after adjusting for inflation. The trend toward over-‐incarceration has been especially hard on racial and ethnic minorities. More than 60% of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities. For African American males in their thirties, 1 in every 10 is in prison or jail on any given day. Due to the "war on drugs," two-‐thirds of all persons in prison for drug offenses are people of color. Like the federal government, states also recorded sharp increases in imprisonment and associated costs over the past 30 years. During the past decade, however, the states have responded by reducing their imprisonment rate by 4% while the federal imprisonment rate jumped 15%. The state drop was driven in large part by comprehensive reform efforts in more than 25 states designed to protect public safety while containing costs and preventing further growth in government programs. These state reforms have returned dividends to taxpayers many times over: from Texas and Wisconsin to Rhode Island, from Georgia and South Carolina to New York, 32 states have reduced both their crime and imprisonment rates over the past five years. Cumulative cost savings in a subset of these states exceed $4.6 billion, and millions have been reinvested in prison alternatives better at breaking the cycle of recidivism. To address the problems associated with the trend toward federal over-‐criminalization, in the spring of 2013, Congressmen Jim Sensenbrenner (WI) and Robert “Bobby” Scott (VA) led a bipartisan task force aimed at reducing the federal criminal code and analyzing our country's apparent addiction to and over-‐reliance on criminalization and incarceration. The result is H.R. 2944, the Sensenbrenner-‐Scott Over-‐Criminalization Task Force Safe, Accountable, Fair, Effective (SAFE) Justice Reinvestment Act of 2015. This seminal, bipartisan legislation draws on what has worked at the state level, and applies it to the federal criminal justice system. Specifically, it curtails over-‐criminalization by eliminating federal criminal penalties for simple drug possession in state jurisdictions; requiring public disclosure of regulatory criminal offenses; allowing victims of regulatory over-‐criminalization to contact the inspector general; restoring discretion to judges to determine to what extent manipulated conduct that results from fictitious law enforcement “stings” may be considered in court; protecting against wrongful convictions; and creating procedures to simplify charging and safely reduce pre-‐trial detention. Furthermore, H.R. 2944 would increase the use of evidence-‐based sentencing alternatives by expanding eligibility for pre-‐judgment probation; promoting greater use of probation for lower-‐level offenders; and encouraging judicial districts to open drug, veteran, mental health and other problem solving courts. Finally, H.R. 2944 also takes affirmative steps to concentrate prison space on violent and career criminals; increases government transparency and accountability; reduces recidivism by using swift and certain responses so offenders know what will happen if they re-‐offend or act in a certain way, and by creating a system of rewards and incentives for good behavior; sentences strategically for drug offenders and focuses on high risk offenders; and acknowledges that age matters by implementing smart, targeted geriatric release programs which can ensure heinous offenders remain behind bars while cutting down on costs and maintaining public safety.
More…
WASHINGTON BUREAU · NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF COLORED PEOPLE 1156 15TH STREET, NW SUITE 915 · WASHINGTON, DC 20005 · P (202) 463-2940 · F (202) 463-2953
E-MAIL: [email protected] · WEB ADDRESS WWW.NAACP.ORG
ACTION
ALERT
THE ACTION WE NEED YOU TO TAKE: Contact your Representative and both your Senators and URGE THEM TO SUPPORT H.R. 2944, THE SENSENBRENNER-SCOTT OVER-CRIMINALIZATION TASK FORCE SAFE, ACCOUNTABLE, FAIR, EFFECTIVE (SAFE) JUSTICE REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2015. To contact your Senators and Representative, you may:
! Make a Phone Call: Call your Senators and your Representative in Washington by dialing the Capitol Switchboard and asking to be transferred to your Senators'/Congressman’s offices. The switchboard phone number is (202) 224-3121 (see message section, below).
! Write a Letter To write letters to your Senators, send them to:
The Honorable (name of Senator) U.S. Senate Washington, D.C. 20510
To write a letter to your Representative, send it to: The Honorable (name of Representative) U.S. House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515
! Send a Fax If you would like to send a fax, call your Senators’ or Representative’s offices (through the Capitol switchboard) and ask for their fax numbers (you can use either the attached sample letter or the message box, below).
! Send an E-Mail To send an e-mail to your Senators, go to www.senate.gov; click on “Find Your Senators”. Look up your Senators by state; go to their web sites for e-mail addresses. To send an e-mail to your Representative, go to www.house.gov, and click on “Write Your Representative” (on the left hand side, just under “find your Representative). This will help you identify who your congressman is and how to contact him/her.
REMEMBER TO CONTACT BOTH YOUR SENATORS!!!!!
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS IMPORTANT MATTER!!! If you have any questions, call Hilary Shelton at the Washington Bureau at (202) 463-2940.
A SAMPLE LETTER IS ATTACHED
THE MESSAGE • Due to our nation’s apparent addiction to and over-‐reliance on criminalization and
incarceration, in past 35 years, the federal government has added an estimated 2,000 new crimes to the books, while the federal imprisonment rate has grown by an astounding 518%. During the same period, annual spending on the federal prison system rose 595%, from $970 million to more than $6.7 billion, after adjusting for inflation.
• The trend toward over-‐incarceration has been especially hard on racial and ethnic minorities; more than 60% of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities.
• We need to take affirmative steps to curb the trend towards over-‐incarceration in order to help save people, neighborhoods, communities, and our nation.
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(date) The Honorable ___________________________ United States Senate / House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20510 / 20515
RE: STRONG SUPPORT FOR H.R. 2944, THE SENSENBRENNER-SCOTT OVER-CRIMINALIZATION TASK FORCE SAFE, ACCOUNTABLE, FAIR, EFFECTIVE (SAFE) JUSTICE REINVESTMENT ACT OF 2015. Dear Senator / Representative _______________________________; As your constituent, I strongly support H.R. 2944, the Sensenbrenner-Scott Over-Criminalization Task Force Safe, Accountable, Fair, Effective (SAFE) Justice Reinvestment Act of 2015, and I urge you to co-sponsor and help move this important legislation. We need to take affirmative steps to curb the trend towards over-incarceration in order to help save people, neighborhoods, communities, and our nation. Due to our nation’s apparent addiction to and over-reliance on criminalization and incarceration, in past 35 years, the federal government has added an estimated 2,000 new crimes to the books, while the federal imprisonment rate has grown by an astounding 518%. During the same period, annual spending on the federal prison system rose 595%, from $970 million to more than $6.7 billion, after adjusting for inflation. The trend toward over-incarceration has been especially hard on racial and ethnic minorities; more than 60% of the people in prison are now racial and ethnic minorities. H.R. 2944 draws on what has worked at the state level, and applies it to the federal criminal justice system. Specifically, if curtails over-criminalization by eliminating federal criminal penalties for simple drug possession in state jurisdictions; requiring public disclosure of regulatory criminal offenses; allowing victims of regulatory over-criminalization to contact the inspector general; restoring discretion to judges to determine to what extent manipulated conduct that results from fictitious law enforcement “stings” may be considered in court; protecting against wrongful convictions; and creating procedures to simplify charging and safely reduce pre-trial detention. Thank you for your attention to this crucial issue. I look forward to your support and to hearing in the very near future what you intend to do to help curb the problematic trend towards over-incarceration. Furthermore, I hope that you will let me know what more I can do. Sincerely, (sign and print your name and remember to include your address)
Sample Letter
Remember to contact your Representative and BOTH
your Senators.