Sentencing Reform Advances, Collateral Consequences Challenged

I’m writing to bring you up to date on a number of encouraging developments in criminal justice policy.

Smarter Sentencing Act Passes in Senate Judiciary Committee – On January 30, the Committee voted to approve mandatory sentencing reform legislation, S. 1410, by a 13-5 bipartisan vote. The legislation has three major provisions: 1) to make retroactive the provisions of the crack cocaine sentencing reform legislation of 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act, to individuals in prison who were sentenced prior to the adoption of the legislation; 2) to cut mandatory minimum drug sentence lengths in half to reduce excessive incarceration; and, 3) to grant judges more discretion in mandatory sentencing cases through expansion of the “safety valve” provision in federal sentencing. The bill now goes to the full Senate; a companion House version has been introduced that is co-sponsored by Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) and Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID).

“Vitter Amendment” on Food Stamp Restrictions Fails – Among the many provisions in the massive federal Farm Bill approved by Congress this week, one was noticeably absent. That was an amendment introduced by Sen. Vitter (R-LA) that would have extended the federal ban on food stamp benefits for persons with a felony drug conviction to individuals with convictions for certain violent crimes as well. After initial passage in the Senate, The Sentencing Project and many colleagues documented the harmful impact such a prohibition would have on reentry prospects for people returning home from prison, leading lawmakers to strike the ban in the final bill. Jeremy Haile, our Federal Advocacy Counsel, analyzes the impact of this campaign in his commentary in the Huffington Post, “How Senator Vitter Lost his Food Fight.”

Graphic Novel Award – I’m pleased to note that the American Library Association has just named Race to Incarcerate: A Graphic Retelling as one of the “Great Graphic Novels of 2014.” The book, on which I collaborated with illustrator Sabrina Jones, is based on the text version of my book, Race to Incarcerate, and is designed to tell the story of mass incarceration in a compelling new format. We’re very honored by this recognition and hope that it can help to engage new audiences in the reform movement.

And we’ll keep you posted on developments in all these areas in the coming months.

Regards,