Tonight’s State of the Union Is a Remarkable Moment for Justice Reform
The numbers speak volumes. 2.3 million people incarcerated in our country. One in every 100 adults is behind bars. America holds 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of its prisoners.
The exploding prison population is just one piece of the problem in our justice system. One in three Americans has a criminal record. The men and women who leave prison face barriers to housing and employment that make it difficult to successfully re-enter society.
Momentum has been building for months. The time is now for comprehensive justice reform.
The State of the Union is a special tradition in our country. It is the moment the President speaks directly to the American people on issues that impact them the most. And all indications are the criminal justice reform will be one of them.
On a night when the eyes of the country are focused on Washington, we ask the President talk about specific solutions to fixing our broken criminal justice system. We hope he will call on Congress to narrow the net of incarceration, expand rehabilitation programs, and reduce recidivism for those returning home. And we hope he will give credit to those across the aisle who have been working on these issues for years.
As a bipartisan coalition with high-profile members from across the political spectrum, we’re committed ensuring criminal justice reform gets done this year. The State of the Union is a groundbreaking moment for our partner organizations.
Here is what they hope to hear from the President:
Alison Holcomb, Director Campaign for Smart Justice, ACLU:
“As the spotlight shines brighter on our nation’s criminal justice system, the problems flowing from our extraordinary incarceration rates come into sharper focus. Our prisons and jails have become dumping grounds for social ills we have failed to address. Last year, President Obama took steps to demonstrate his concern about our broken system and his commitment to mending it. Our hope is the President takes advantage of his final state of the union to outline steps to shrink our dysfunctional reliance on incarceration and beef up investments in proven crime reduction strategies like jobs, education, and substance abuse and mental health treatment.”
Grover Norquist, President, Americans for Tax Reform:
“Decades of over-criminalization, over-regulation, and over-incarceration have done great harm to personal liberties and taxpayers. President Obama has one more year to reach out to Congress and act on legislation meant to roll back the encroachment of a prison system that has no signs of stopping its growth — even at the expense of public safety and hardworking taxpayers. Washington foot dragging has prevented solutions to problems like the abuse of the asset forfeiture system, and adequate intent protections for crimes, otherwise known as mens rea. Moreover, the unnecessary lengths of many drug sentences increase the risks of recidivism as they take up precious resources from law enforcement. Rather than waste billions in a broken and abusive system, it’s time to do what’s right for American taxpayers and public safety.”
Carmel Martin, Vice President for Policy, Center for American Progress:
“In 2015, there was encouraging momentum around the prospects for criminal justice. One in three Americans now have some type of criminal record, which is a major driver of inequality and can present barriers to employment, housing, education, and more. With nearly half of all U.S. children having a parent with a criminal record, inaction risks condemning a wide swath of the next generation to a life of poverty. CAP hopes that this year, bipartisan lawmakers in Congress and state legislatures continue to move forward to enact meaningful sentencing reforms, as well as policies that give individuals with criminal records a meaningful shot at a second chance and a better future.”
Timothy Head, Executive Director, Faith and Freedom Coalition:
“Our justice system has become unforgiving, harsh, and at times cruel. Millions of Americans are serving time behind bars, including fathers, mothers, sons, daughters. Many of them wishing, hoping, praying they can reconnect with their families and have a second chance at an honest life. We need to advance meaningful criminal justice reform in 2016 because as a nation built on Christian principles, every American — regardless of race, religion, or political persuasion — deserves a shot at redemption and a second chance to live an honest and moral life. Faith leaders across the country have rallied behind criminal justice reform, because we know that everybody deserves a second chance, and we also know that reform will take a major step forward in helping to reunite millions of families who have been torn apart by mistakes in the past. We want to see Americans in 2016 have their shot at redemption, and as such, we hope our lawmakers implement policies to reunite and strengthen American families.”
Jason Pye, Communications Director, FreedomWorks:
“We need our elected leaders, both in Congress and the White House, to seriously address the need to curb federal spending on our prison system that for too long has been ballooning out of control. We should not continue to ask taxpayers to foot $80 billion for a system that is unsustainable and inefficient. Justice reform offers the opportunity to limit government and rein in our growing correctional system by reducing sentences. We should look to give judges greater say in sentencing for low-level crimes and provide alternatives to prison for nonviolent offenders, which is cost effective and better at preventing future crime. These are policies conservatives should embrace.”
Wade Henderson, President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights:
“We look forward to discussing and implementing policies that address those individuals who finish their sentence and continue to bear that burden long after they have left prison. We urge him and Congress to further eliminate barriers to employment and provide people with an opportunity to successfully re-integrate into society. At a time when, one in three Americans — or 70 million people — have an arrest or conviction record, these individuals face enormous obstacles to securing housing, financial aid for college, access to public benefits, and employment for the rest of their lives. These barriers, which permanently force people to the margins of our society, pose a huge cost to our nation.”
Hilary O. Shelton, Washington Bureau Director and Senior Vice President for Advocacy, NAACP:
“We look forward to hearing President Obama presents solutions that address the disparate impact the justice system has on communities of color. According to study presented in the White House, more than 60% of the men and women currently incarcerated today are racial and ethnic minorities. Additionally, too many people are unfairly being locked up for too long for non-violent offenses, and they are not getting the support they need to become productive members of society either in prison or once they are released. We want to work with the president and Congress to reduce not only the overall number of those incarcerated, but also the disparity of those who are put into prison or jail.”
Marc A. Levin, Policy Director, Right on Crime:
“States have always been the incubator for policy innovation and nowhere is that more true than in the way states have improved the criminal justice system. We encourage the president and Congress to catch up with states such as Texas, Georgia and South Carolina that have passed legislation that leads to greater public safety, while also reducing their prison populations and lowering costs to taxpayers. We already have the tools to make our justice system more effective and efficient. It is now in hands of our nation’s leaders to implement them.”
The U.S. Justice Action Network works across the country to pass legislation to end overcriminalization, safely reduce the jail and prison population and related taxpayer costs, and break down barriers for those leaving prison to successfully re-enter society.
Follow @USJusticeAction on Twitter.
Statements are opinions of the individual organizations.
