There are about a million African Americans in the criminal justice system, which makes the United States number one in terms of the number of Black people behind bars. Fortunately, President Barack Obama, Attorney General Eric Holder, State Sen. Holly Mitchell, and State Assemblymember Reggie Jones-Sawyer are working to right this wrong by pushing forward important criminal justice reforms.
One of President Obama’s early criminal justice accomplishments was signing the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. Members of the Congressional Black Caucus had worked on this legislation for years to alleviate the punishment disparity between crack and powder cocaine. In response to this reform, 7,500 people who were sentenced during the years of the so-called “war on drugs” got reduced sentences—85 percent of whom were Black. This was a critical step forward.
Holder is also doing everything in his power to reduce sentences for low-level nonviolent offenders. He changed the Justice Department’s charging policies so that now people convicted of certain low-level, nonviolent drug crimes will not face excessive punishment. Harsh mandatory minimums will only be applied to the most serious criminals. At Mr. Holder’s urging, the United States Sentencing Commission is changing sentencing guidelines to reduce the average sentence for certain nonviolent drug offenders by 11 months. As a result, the Sentencing Commission projects that the federal prison population will drop by 6,550 inmates at the end of five years.
Most recently, Mr. Holder rolled out “The Clemency Project 2014,” a sweeping plan to expand the pool of inmates eligible for clemency and to help identify good candidates for early release. The Justice Department will identify low-level, nonviolent offenders with demonstrated good conduct in prison, no ties to criminal organizations, no significant criminal history, and no history of violence. Qualified inmates will be encouraged to apply for clemency and have the opportunity to consult volunteer lawyers who will help with the application process. In addition, Mr. Holder will dedicate resources so that the Justice Department will be able to handle all of the applications.
In addition to the president’s and the attorney general’s efforts, members of Congress from both parties have introduced proposals to reform our sentencing laws. For example, the “Smarter Sentencing Act” would make the Fair Sentencing law retroactive so that people sentenced before 2010 could apply for reduced terms. Another example is the “Public Safety Enhancement Act,” a bill to allow inmates to earn additional good-time credit by participating in rehabilitation and education programs. It is important to note that even in a divided, partisan Congress, both Democrats and Republicans are addressing an issue that could further help end mass incarceration of African Americans.
Although it is encouraging to see these important developments at the federal level, we need to get prepared for the next issue: removing the barriers people will face when they go home to local communities, and I comment state Senator Mitchell and Jones-Sawyer for stepping up to the plate.
Throughout the country, lawmakers at the state and local level have passed laws that make it hard for ex-offenders returning home to get jobs, housing and education—the things they need to get their lives on track. In some states, a person could be penalized for not finding employment, and at the same time prohibited by law from working in many fields. Some states even have laws banning a person from returning home to live with family, if the family lives in public housing.
Fortunately, Mitchell and Jones-Sawyer recognize that if people are banned from work and housing, they will likely re-offend. They know that without action on the state and local levels, the next great crisis will be thousands of our family members returning home from prison who have little to no infrastructure of services to assist their reintegration. In an effort to address these issues in comprehensive way, Mitchell and Jones-Sawyer fought to secure $8 million in California’s 2014-15 budget to fund community-based reentry services for ex-offenders. A comprehensive approach is critically needed if we are going to help families and communities identify solutions that keep returning citizens from returning to crime.
The funds that Mitchell and Jones-Sawyer fought for will help faith-based institutions, and community-based organizations serve people who are coming home.
Organizations like A New Way of Life, Shields for Families, and PV Jobs would be supported by these funds so they can continue to assist hundreds of men and women successfully stabilize and contribute to their families and communities.
With full knowledge of efforts underway that will result in thousands of people returning home, lawmakers, communities, faith leaders and the media must immediately begin to rally in support of more funding to continue developing a service infrastructure for the positive reintegration of our loved ones returning home from prison. Our communities depend on it.
