Stephanie Tubbs Jones: “I have been waiting nearly 30 years for Congress to enact meaningful reentry legislation, as I have been deeply involved…”

“I have been waiting nearly 30 years for Congress to enact meaningful reentry legislation, as I have been deeply involved in prisoner reentry issues since my days as a judge and county prosecutor in Cleveland, Ohio before serving in Congress. While Cuyahoga County Prosecutor, I helped establish the ``Pretrial Diversion Program,'' as well as the ``Municipal Drug Court.'' Both programs, I am proud to say, still exist and continue to help ex-offenders move on with their lives and become productive citizens of society. Prisoner reentry is not a Democratic issue. It is not a Republican issue. It is a common sense issue. The facts are clear--meaningful reentry programs significantly diminish the chances that ex-offenders will return to prison. That saves taxpayer dollars and increases public safety. So why not invest in enhancing reentry programs in order to end the cycle of recidivism? That is exactly what the Second Chance Act does. In 2002, two million people were incarcerated in all federal and state prisons. Each year, nearly 650,000 people are released from prison to communities nationwide. Nearly two thirds of released prisoners are expected to be re-arrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within three years of their release. The State of Ohio has one of the largest populations of ex-offenders re-entering the community, with about 24,000 ex-offenders returning to their respective communities annually.”