Considering the United States’ place as the world’s top incarcerator produces two possible conclusions. Either Americans are the most evil people on the planet or there is something terribly wrong with the way we enforce justice.
A growing, bi-partisan group of lawmakers is convinced of the latter.
The charges that they levy against our system are grave –criminal justice policies that imprison millions of Americans and cost billions of dollars are ineffective and harmful.
The National Criminal Justice Commission Act (S 714 and HR 5143) issues a warrant to search every dark, dank corner of our criminal justice system and expose just where we’ve gone wrong.
On January 22, 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved S 714 with bipartisan support. The bill now must go before the full Senate for a vote.
On April 27, 2010, Representatives introduced HR 5143 to the House, where it will be placed in committee before proceeding to the full floor.
Get involved to express your support for this crucial legislation! You can help unearth the truth about our criminal justice system and work to restore justice and safety.
Pray
- Create a National Criminal Justice Commission to review all areas of federal and state criminal justice costs, practices and policies;
- Pass fair and moral laws that target dangerous criminals rather than merely trap and punish individuals who commit regulatory infractions and
- Reform unjust sentencing policies.
- Pray for judges to exercise wisdom in delivering sentences.
- Pray for success for law enforcement as they work to protect our streets from danger.
- Pray that the justice system will reduce the number of non-dangerous drug offenders and mentally ill individuals it places in prisons and use that funding for more community and faith-based mental health and addiction programs.
- Pray that adequate funding will go to education and drug treatment programs and mental-health counseling to prevent criminal activity before it occurs.
- Pray that offenders will be successfully reintegrated into society upon completion of their prison terms.
- Pray that U.S. prisons will become a model of justice, safety, efficiency and restoration for the rest of the world.
Spread the Word
Talk with your families and friends about why a thorough review of our prison system is so important!
- The United States has the world’s highest incarceration rate: with only five percent of the world’s population, the United States incarcerates 25 percent of the world’s prisoners.
- Approximately one in 100 adults is behind bars.
(One in 100: Behind Bars in America, Pew Center on the States, 2008)
- Approximately 7.3 million, or one in 31 adults, are being held behind bars or are on parole or probation.
(One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections, Pew Center on the States, 2009)
- The prison system costs taxpayers $68 billion a year—an increase of 300 percent over the past two decades.
(One in 31: The Long Reach of American Corrections, Pew Center on the States, 2009)
(Bureau of Justice Statistics)
Get more helpful facts and information from Senator Jim Webb's web page on the National Criminal Justice Commission Act.
Hold the Government Accountable
Send a letter to your newspaper editor to urge support for prisoners’ families! Use the sample letter below as a model to write your own letter!
Dear Editor,
The United States spends more money on prisons and incarcerates more people than any other nation in the world, and yet crime is still a major public concern. The price tag for locking up the current population of two million people is $68 billion a year—an increase of 300 percent over the past two decades.
Many people would argue that public safety is worth almost any price, but prisons are filling up with too many nonviolent, first-time and often mentally ill offenders, leaving less room for the truly violent criminals and gang members who continue to prey on the public. Overcrowded and mismanaged prisons have become a training ground for increased violence and criminal activity.
In addition, the system doesn’t do a very good job of protecting citizens once inmates get out. Of those released, a third commits crimes again within three years. Within five years, 65 percent do.
There’s got to be a better way.
Senate bill 714 and House bill 5143 would create a National Criminal Justice Commission to review all areas of federal and state criminal justice costs, practices, and policies. It would shine a light on every dark, dank corner of our system to determine just where we’ve gone wrong. The commission will recommend prison and sentencing policies to reduce the incarceration rate while preserving public safety, conserving tax dollars and maintaining fairness and justice.
At a time when other federal and state issues and projects are demanding more funding, the National Criminal Justice Commission will provide significant cost reductions and better solutions to a nationwide crisis.
Sincerely,
(Your Name)
Change the Law
Write to your Members of Congress, urging them to uncover the problems in our criminal justice system and adopt smart reforms!
Dear Senator/Representative
Please support Senate bill 714 and House bill 5143, The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010.
If created, the Commission will look into some of the most significant areas of corrections and criminal justice to assess what’s working, what’s not, and to make concrete recommendations for reform. Such a thorough examination could not come at a more critical time.
Our exploding prison population testifies that we too often use our prisons to warehouse people we are mad at rather than to protect us from those who truly threaten our safety. We have 5% of the world’s population, but 25% of the world’s prisoners. Not only does this gluttony for imprisonment rip apart families and communities, it comes at incredible expense to taxpayers.
High recidivism rates also show we must re-examine the ways we prepare offenders to re-enter society. We cannot expect them to become peaceful, contributing members of our communities if they are not equipped with the tools needed to succeed on the outside. Yet, too often we dump these men and women out on the streets with a mere $20 and the clothes on their backs.
Increased gang activity shows our methods for fighting crime are in serious disarray. Roughly 1 million gang members operate in the United States, with many of them coming from other countries to wreak havoc in our neighborhoods.
Conditions in many of our prisons are nothing to gloat over either. Prison violence and sexual assault behind bars are all too common. Additionally, contagious diseases and mental illness fester in our prisons at alarming rates. An estimated 350,000 men and women with serious mental illness are incarcerated – causing our corrections facilities to become the largest treatment providers for mental illness in the nation. The treatment available hardly suffices to help offenders overcome the illnesses that contribute to their criminal behavior.
A National Criminal Justice Commission will consider each of these aspects of our criminal justice system and recommend ways to realize lasting, effective change. We must have the courage to look steadily at the system we’ve created and recognize its effects on our country. To bring peace and security to our communities, I urge you to support The National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010 (S. 714 and HR 5143) today!
Sincerely,
(Your name)
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