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Criminal Justice

Action Alert: Demand Criminal Justice Reform!

SSDP Action Alert

Tell Congress to pass the National Criminal Justice Commission Act!
Act now!

Dear friends,

Our criminal justice system is a disgrace. While the United States makes up only 5% of the world's population, we hold more than 25% of the world's prisoners. Prisons are overcrowded, courts are clogged, police resources are squandered and at the root of it all, is the war on drugs.

Thankfully, we have a chance to make Congress take a serious look at reform.

On Wednesday, June 23rd, SSDP is taking part in the National Call In Day for Criminal Justice Reform and we need your help to urge the passage of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, S. 714. This legislation would create a bipartisan commission to review criminal justice policies and make recommendations for reform. Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA) and 15 bipartisan cosponsors introduced the bill last year.

Now, the Senate Judiciary Committee has reviewed and favorably passed the bill and it is awaiting passage out of the U.S. Senate. Please take a minute to call the following Senators and ask them to prioritize and support Senate passage of this important legislation:

  • Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), 202-224-5556
  • Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 202-224-3135
  • Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), 202-224-9447

Phone Script:

"Hello, my name is _______________. I am a registered voter in ____________, and I am calling to express both my support and concern regarding the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, Senate Bill 714. I am supportive of the measure because transparency on the bipartisan commission will increase public safety and government accountability, and because the incredible rates of incarceration over the past 20 years are unsustainable socially and economically. I am concerned because if this act is not passed, we will once again be endorsing a criminal justice system that is fundamentally flawed."

More information can be found at http://www.ssdp.org/cjreform (please tweet, buzz and share this link!).

The drug war has devastated America's criminal justice system. If this commission is approved, it will surely include recommendations to reform our nation's drug policies. So please, call Congress today!

Sincerely, 

Jonathan Perri

Associate Director

Students for Sensible Drug Policy 

P.S. Do you want SSDP to continue pressuring Congress to ensure more sensible drug policies? If so, please become a monthly donor

of $20 or more:

http://www.ssdp.org/donate

Take Action Update: Your Calls Were Heard! Now Make One More

Announcement

Sentencing Project
 

Call-in Day Update

Thank you for joining today's National Call-in Day. Majority Leader Reid and Senator Durbin have heard you loud and clear. We received word that they got the message and know you support S. 714, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act.

If you have not yet called today, you can take Senators Durbin and Reid off your list and add Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who is the Republican Whip.

REVISED TARGETS:

·         Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), (202) 224-4521

·         Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), (202) 224-3135
(If you already called Minority Leader McConnell, no need to call again.)

MESSAGE TO SENATORS:

Please support S. 714, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, because:
•     Having a transparent and bipartisan Commission review and identify effective criminal justice policies would increase public safety.
•    The increase in incarceration over the past twenty years has stretched the system beyond its limits. The high cost to taxpayers is unsustainable, especially during these times of economic downturn.
•    The proposed commission would conduct a comprehensive national review and would issue recommendations for reform. 

 

The Sentencing Project is located at 1705 DeSales Street, NW 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20036.  Send an email to The Sentencing Project.

The Sentencing Project is a national, non-profit organization engaged in research and advocacy for criminal justice reform.

Today is National Call-In Day: Support the Webb Criminal Justice Commission

Dear friends,

TODAY - Wednesday, June 23 - is National Call-In Day:  If you are concerned about America's incarceration problem, please take a few minutes to call key senators who are in a position to do something about it.  Tell Senate leadership to
support the Webb Criminal Justice Commission! 

In 2009, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) introduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, S. 714. To date, 39 senators have co-sponsored this legislation, which will create a bipartisan commission to complete a comprehensive review of the national criminal justice system, identify effective criminal justice policies and make recommendations for much-needed reform.  The Senate Judiciary Committee has reviewed and passed the bill and it is now awaiting passage through the United States Senate.  

LEAP believes this bill will help us acheive our goal of legalization and regulation, as Senator Webb has said that discussing the legalization of drugs should be on the table for the commission.  Drug prohibition directly impacts the problem of prison overcrowding by incarcerating nonviolent offenders, and America is the number one incarcerator in the world.  As a supporter of LEAP, please urge Senate leadership to pass this important legislation!

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

Please call the following Senators TODAY, June 23, to ask them to prioritize and support Senate passage of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, S. 714:

--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), 202-224-3542

--Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 202-224-3135

--Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), 202-224-9447

TALKING POINTS:

"I am calling to ask Senator _________ to prioritize and support immediate Senate passage of S. 714, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, because the proposed commission would conduct a comprehensive national review of the efficacy of criminal justice policies in the United States and offer recommendations for reform that would improve public safety, governement accountability, cost effectiveness, and overall fairness in the implementation of the criminal justice system."


Thank you for your support of this important effort!



Your donation puts LEAP speakers in front of audiences. To support LEAP's work by making a contribution, please click here.





           

121 Mystic Ave. Suites 8&9
Medford, MA 01255
(781) 393-6985
[email protected]



We need help growing our all-encompassing movement of citizens who want to end the failed "war on drugs," so please invite your family and friends to learn about LEAP.

 

IDPI: ACTION ALERT: Today is National Call-In Day

Dear Friends of the Interfaith Drug Policy Initiative:

We are excited to pass along this action alert from a coalition of organizations we are a part of pushing for national criminal justice reform.  We are working on lots of important projects and will update you soon about our progress.  In the meantime, please take action today and tell Senate Leadership to pass the National Criminal Justice Commission Act!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

TODAY is National Call-In Day:  Tell Senate Leadership to pass the National Criminal Justice Commission Act!

BACKGROUND INFO:

In 2009, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) and 15 bipartisan cosponsors introduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, S. 714, legislation that would create a bipartisan Commission to review and identify effective criminal justice policies and make recommendations for reform.  The Senate Judiciary Committee has reviewed and favorably passed the bill and it is now awaiting passage out of the United States Senate.  Please help us urge Senate Leadership to prioritize and pass this important legislation as soon as possible!

ACTION NEEDED:

Please call the following Senators today to ask them to prioritize and support Senate passage of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, S. 714, as soon as possible:

--Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), 202-224-3542

--Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 202-224-3135

--Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), 202-224-9447

MESSAGE:

I am calling to ask the Senator to prioritize and support immediate Senate passage of S. 714, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, because:

--Having a transparent and bipartisan Commission review and identify effective criminal justice policies would increase public safety.

--The increase in incarceration over the past twenty years has stretched the system beyond its limits.  These high costs to taxpayers are unsustainable, especially during these times of economic downturn.

--The proposed commission would conduct a comprehensive national review - not audits of individual state systems - and would issue recommendations - not mandates - for consideration.


Please contact
[email protected] if you have any questions.  Thank you for making these important calls!

Take Action TODAY: National Call-in Day

Announcement

Sentencing Project
 

Today is Call-in Day

Tell Senate Leadership to Support the National Criminal Justice Commission Act


Today is the National Call-in Day to Support Senate Passage of S. 714
,
The National Criminal Justice Commission Act

BACKGROUND INFO:
In 2009, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) and 15 bipartisan co-sponsors introduced the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, S. 714, legislation that would create a bipartisan Commission to review and identify effective criminal justice policies and make recommendations for reform.  The Senate Judiciary Committee has reviewed and favorably passed the bill and it is now awaiting passage out of the Senate.  We need your help urging Senate Leadership to prioritize and pass this important legislation.

ACTION NEEDED:
Right now, please call the following Senators to ask them to prioritize and support Senate passage of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act as soon as possible:
•    Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), 202-224-5556
•    Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), 202-224-3135
•    Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin (D-IL), 202-224-9447


MESSAGE TO SENATORS:

Please support S. 714, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act, because:
•     Having a transparent and bipartisan Commission review and identify effective criminal justice policies would increase public safety.
•    The increase in incarceration over the past twenty years has stretched the system beyond its limits.  The high cost to taxpayers is unsustainable, especially during these times of economic downturn.
•    The proposed commission would conduct a comprehensive national review and would issue recommendations for reform. 

After you've completed your calls, drop us an email to tell us how it went.

 

The Sentencing Project is located at 1705 DeSales Street, NW 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20036.  Send an email to The Sentencing Project.

The Sentencing Project is a national, non-profit organization engaged in research and advocacy for criminal justice reform.

FedCURE NEWS: NCJCA ~ LIVE WEBCAST: 3:00PM, THURSDAY -- Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing Scheduled on Webb Bill to Overhaul America’s Criminal Justice System


Media Advisory for:                          Contact: Jessica Smith – 202-228-5185

Thursday, June 11, 2007, 3:00pm                        Kimberly Hunter – 202-228-5258

*** LIVE WEBCAST: 3:00PM, THURSDAY ***

Senate Judiciary Subcommittee Hearing Scheduled on

Webb Bill to Overhaul America’s Criminal Justice System

National Criminal Justice Commission Act charges comprehensive

 review of system, concrete solutions for reform

Washington, DC – On Thursday, June 11, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs will hold a hearing on Senator Webb’s legislation to comprehensively review and reform the nation’s criminal justice system. The hearing entitled “Exploring the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009,” will host a number of experts in the field to discuss the need for such legislation. Senator Webb will participate in the hearing.

On March 26, Webb introduced S.714 to create a blue-ribbon commission charged with conducting an 18-month, top-to-bottom review of the nation’s entire criminal justice system and offering concrete recommendations for reform. The legislation has received widespread bipartisan support and has 29 cosponsors in the Senate, including Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA) and Ranking Member Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Judiciary Committee member Senator Orrin G Hatch (R-UT).

In the 110th Congress, Webb chaired two hearings of the Joint Economic Committee that examined various aspects of the criminal justice system. In October of 2008, he conducted a symposium on drugs in America at George Mason University Law Center.

The hearing will be webcast online at the Senate Judiciary Committee website. The watch live, please go to: http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=3906

WHAT:                       Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Hearing: “Exploring the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009”

WHEN:                       Thursday, June 11th, at 3:00pm

WHERE:                    226 Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, DC

                                    Or online at: http://judiciary.senate.gov/hearings/hearing.cfm?id=3906

WITNESSES:            Pat Nolan, Vice President, Prison Fellowship

Chief William Bratton, Los Angeles Police Department

Professor Charles J. Ogletree, Harvard Law School

Brian W. Walsh, Senior Legal Research Fellow, Center for Legal and Judicial Studies, The Heritage Foundation

For background materials on Senator Webb’s legislation, please visit:  http://webb.senate.gov/email/criminaljusticereform.html

For  additional materials or to RSVP, please contact Kimberly Hunter at: [email protected].

Finally, Congress discusses prohibition!

LEAP logo

"Make sure your legislators are part of the 'Drug War' discussion on Capitol Hill!"

Jack Cole pic

Jack Cole
26-year veteran cop
New Jersey State Police

Take Action

Congress is Debating the Drug War. 
Are Your Representatives Part of the Discussion?


Dear Friends,

The war against the "War on Drugs" is really starting to heat up.  

Law Enforcement Against Prohibition has spent the last two years asking every single congressional office to take a thorough look at the failure of our drug laws, and now it is happening!

Recently on Capitol Hill, Sen. Jim Webb (D-Virginia) introduced a bill to create a blue ribbon commission to initiate a comprehensive review of America's criminal justice and drug policies.  The commission will spend eighteen months studying all aspects of the criminal justice system, report the findings to Congress and offer tangible recommendations for reform, including, possibly, an end to the cruel drug laws that send too many people to prison for too long.

But that's only if we build enough support to pass this important legislation.  

We've made it easy for you to contact your legislators about supporting Sen. Webb's bill.  All you have to do is go to
http://www.DrugWarDebate.com and enter in your contact information.  Edit the pre-written letter if you want, and click send.  Then, use our automated system to let your friends know that they can take action too.  That's it.  

If enough of us put this already-bipartisan legislation on our senators' and representatives' radar screens, we can and will make a difference.

The United States is the number one incarcerator in the world, with one out of every one hundred American adults behind bars.  Sadly, the lion's share of this insane level of incarceration is driven by drug prohibition.

Our current policies are not serving the public interest, and the results have been devastating: since the inception of the "war on drugs," more than 38 million arrests have been made for nonviolent drug offenses.  Under Sen. Webb's legislation, the commission will, among other things, "make recommendations for changes in policies and laws designed to....restructure the approach to criminalization of, and incarceration as a result of the possession or use of illegal drugs."

A thorough examination of the criminal justice system as it relates to the failed "war on drugs" will go a long way toward awakening more policymakers about the reasons for reform, and Sen. Webb's efforts are exactly what we need right now.  Please visit
http://www.DrugWarDebate.com today to contact your senators and representatives, asking them to support S. 714, the National Criminal Justice Act of 2009.  

And please consider making a donation to help LEAP continue our important efforts.  If you can afford to help, please go to
http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com/donate and make as big a gift as you feel comfortable giving.

We can't do it without your help!

Sincerely,

Jack Cole
Executive Director
Law Enforcement Against Prohibition

The Sentencing Projuect: "Mandate for Change," Featuring Marc Mauer on Criminal Justice Reform

The Sentencing Project is pleased to announce the release of a new publication from our colleagues at the Institute for Policy Studies,
"Mandate for Change." 


MandateforChange

 

Edited by Chester Hartman, the founding executive director of the Poverty & Race Research Action Council, "Mandate for Change" is a collection of progressive policy proposals for the Obama Administration on every major domestic and international topic by more than 70 leading thinkers and activists in the field.  "A New Policy for Public Safety," a chapter on criminal justice reform, was contributed by Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project. 

A Washington, D.C. reception celebrating the release of "Mandate for Change" will be held on Monday, February 23rd at Busboys and Poets from 6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.


In addition to many associates of the Institute for Policy Studies, contributors include:


Nan Aron, Alliance for Justice
Dean Baker, Center for Economic & Policy Research
Sheila Crowley, National Low Income Housing Coalition
Peter Edelman, Georgetown University Law Center
Maria Foscarinis, National Law Center on Homelessness  & Poverty
Kim Gandy, National Organization for Women
Angela Glover Blackwell, PolicyLink
Mark Greenberg, Center for American Progress
Alan Houseman, Center for Law and Social Policy
Doug Nelson and Bart Lubow, Annie E. Casey Foundation
Miles Rappaport and Stuart Comstock Gray, Demos

For more information or to order a copy of "Mandate for Change" visit the Web site here.

New Report: 17 States Enacted Criminal Justice Reform in 2008

[Courtesy of The Sentencing Project] 

 

A new report by The Sentencing Project highlights 17 states that enacted sentencing and corrections reforms in 2008. The State of Sentencing 2008: Developments in Policy and Practice finds that a nationwide budget crisis coupled with widespread prison overcrowding has led many states to address critical challenges in the areas of sentencing, drug policy, parole revocation, racial justice, felony disenfranchisement, juvenile justice, and higher education in prison.
 
Highlights from the report include:

  • Arizona established a probation revocation and crime reduction performance incentive system to encourage counties to reduce commitments to prison.
  • Kentucky amended parole release policies and expanded home incarceration for persons convicted of certain offenses, created a committee to study the state's penal code and made recommendations for reform, and rescinded certain requirements for persons seeking to have voting rights restored after the completion of sentence.
  • Mississippi amended parole release policies, and expanded eligibility for compassionate release.
In the report, The Sentencing Project urges state policymakers and practitioners to reconsider sentencing policies that result in lengthy terms of incarceration; invest in strategies proven to reduce recidivism; and expand diversion and treatment programs beyond first-time and non-violent offenders.

Employment Opportunity with The Sentencing Project

Dear Friend,


The Sentencing Project is pleased to announce a new position opening for State Advocacy Coordinator.
 
In conjunction with the Director of Advocacy, the State Advocacy Coordinator will develop and implement a program to support state and local advocates engaged in criminal justice reform. Issues to be addressed will include sentencing and drug policy reform, alternatives to incarceration, racial disparities in the criminal and juvenile justice system, felony disenfranchisement reform and others consistent with the mission of The Sentencing Project. The position will involve some travel to selected states.

 

Coordinator will be responsible for:

  • developing a strategic plan for reform in selected states, which may include partnering with organizations from civil rights, voting rights and faith-based communities, formerly incarcerated persons, policymakers, and community leaders;
  • providing research assistance, developing communications strategies, aiding in coalition-building, and advising on legislative campaigns;
  • working at both the federal and state levels, including some federal policy work.

Click here to see the complete job description and qualifications.

To be considered for the position, applicants should submit a cover letter, resume, and writing sample to: Nia Lizanna, Operations Manager, The Sentencing Project, 514 Tenth Street, NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004 or [email protected]. No phone calls, please.
 
This position will remain open until filled.
 
The Sentencing Project is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer committed to cultural diversity and recruits without regard to gender, race, ethnicity, color, age, religion, sexual orientation, disabilities, or prior convictions.