Political Quotes

“the Senate has before it a bill called the FIRST STEP Act. The name is significant because it shows that this is not a comprehensive fix for the problems of our criminal justice system but, rather, a first, critical step in the right direction. A study by the U.S. Sentencing Commission found that nearly half of the people released from Federal prison in 2005 were arrested again in the next 8 years--half of the people released from Federal prison since 2005 were rearrested within 8 years. Considering that 95 percent of State and Federal prisoners at some point will be released, those odds are pretty bleak, but here is the reality: Almost everybody in prison will serve their time and get out of prison. The question for us is, Will they be better prepared to live life on the outside in a productive way or will they simply reengage in a turnstile--or as one gentleman referred to himself in Houston, TX, a few years ago when we were talking about this issue--he called himself a frequent flyer in the criminal justice system. Unfortunately, we see that in the Federal system, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, half of the people repeat their mistakes within 8 years. This is bleak but not hopeless because we know there are reforms that will work that help improve the chances that more people will be able to live a lawful life productively outside a prison system and will not reoffend.…”