Political Quotes

“Mr. President, there are two matters I want to talk about. Before I speak about the immigration, I want to speak about the Supreme Court ruling today in Alleyne v. the United States, that facts underlying mandatory minimum sentences must be proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt. I continue to believe our criminal justice system's reliance on mandatory minimum sentences is a mistake. In March, Senator Paul and I introduced the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013, to give Federal judges greater flexibility in sentencing in cases where a mandatory minimum is not only unnecessary but often counterproductive. Mandatory minimum sentences imprison some people, particularly nonviolent offenders, for far longer than is just or beneficial. Looking at it just from a fiscal point of view, as a result of mandatory minimums the Federal prison population has exploded in recent years. This has placed enormous strain on the Justice Department's budget. That means less money for Federal law enforcement, less aid to State and local law enforcement, less funding for crime prevention programs that make us safer, plus less money for prisoner reentry programs. Sentencing reform has worked at the State level. The Justice Safety Valve Act is an important step toward the sentencing reform our Federal system desperately needs. I applaud the Supreme Court decision today in Alleyne.…”