Sentencing reform bill clears hurdle in Senate
WASHINGTON — The Senate Judiciary Committee on Thursday approved what could be the biggest sentencing reform measure since the get-tough-oncrime era of the 1980s and ’90s.
Advocates hope that the bipartisan 15-5 vote, combined with newfound support from police chiefs and movement on the issue in the House, could lead to passage of the measure in the next several months.
Though not nearly as ambitious as a measure approved by Senate Democrats last year, the proposal would reduce mandatory sentences for drug offenders and eliminate the mandatory “three-strike” life sentence. It would make the changes apply retroactively to those already in prison and also provide a pathway to early release for those who complete prison rehabilitation programs.
But proponents say there are still significant hurdles for the legislation to overcome. One is an amendment advocated by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, to protect people from being convicted for activity they mistakenly thought was legal. Democrats say the amendment would be a “poison pill” that would kill the legislation because they see it as an effort to protect white-collar criminals, including polluters.
There is also a concern that presidential politics will derail the bipartisan momentum of the bill.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a candidate for president who in the past has supported aspects of the bill, came out Thursday against it, saying it would release violent criminals. He said 7,085 prisoners overall would be eligible for release, though their releases would have to be individually approved by a judge.
Obama defends rights movement
President Barack Obama says the Black Lives Matter movement is drawing attention to a specific problem that’s happening only in African-American communities.
Speaking Thursday at a White House forum on the criminal justice system, Obama said it’s “a legitimate issue that we’ve got to address.”
Obama said the loosely organized group is raising specific concerns about whether blacks in certain areas are treated unfairly by police. Tens of thousands more prisoners are to be released separately under changes in sentencing guidelines by the U.S. Sentencing Commission.
While the bill approved Thursday is described by its backers as helping only nonviolent criminals, Cruz disputed that because it covers criminals who have used a firearm in the commission of a crime.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., one of the main proponents of the bill, acknowledged the political stakes in letting people out early.
“This is dangerous business for a politician,” he said. “We are going to release people, but we don’t know what they are going to do. We may be held personally accountable. But, if we use that as our inspiration, we will never touch the sentencing laws.”
Proponents of the bill, who earlier had predicted only one or two Republicans would vote against it, were disappointed in the five no votes from GOP panel members. While the committee beat back a series of crippling amendments Thursday, they are expected to be offered again when the bill is taken up on the Senate floor.
Advocates of reform were brightened by the introduction of a similar bill in the House Judiciary Committee by its chairman, Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., who, like his Senate counterpart, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, has been extremely cautious about changing sentencing laws.
They also are hopeful that the apparent impending election of Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., as House speaker could provide a means for getting the Goodlatte bill through conservatives in the House. Ryan, however, has not taken a position on the legislation.
— Associated Press