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The Sentencing Project

News related to legislation regarding criminal sentencing, disenfranchisement and other inmate-rights issues.
By The Sentencing Project

Post Frequency: 1.1/day

Last Entry: July 14, 2009 at 17:20:01

Read News: Administration Calls for End of 'War on Drugs'

Posted on May 14, 2009
The U.S. Attorney General and White House Drug Czar have both signaled a need for drug policy reform. On the heels of testimony provided last month by the Department of Justice's Lanny Breuer supporting equalizing the cocaine sentencing disparity, Eric Holder and Gil Kerlikowske have publicly stated the necessity for change in addressing drugs and incarceration...

Read News: Introduction of Federal JLWOP Elimination Bill

Posted on May 12, 2009
On May 6, 2009 Representatives Robert 'Bobby' Scott and John Conyers introduced The Juvenile Justice Accountability and Improvement Act of 2009 (HR 2289), which would require reviews of life sentences given to individuals under the age of 18 after fifteen years of incarceration, and every three years thereafter...

Read News: Report Provides National Look at Prison Nurseries

Posted on May 11, 2009
The Women's Prison Association released Mothers, Infants and Imprisonment: A National Look at Prison Nurseries and Community-Based Alternatives, a report that examines the expansion of prison nursery programs across the U.S. and also looks at community-based residential parenting programs, which allow women to serve criminal justice sentences with their infants in a non-prison setting...

Read News: Disenfranchisement News

Posted on May 08, 2009
Washington State: Victory in Voting Rights International: New Book Highlights International Roots of Disenfranchisement Virginia: Democratic Gubernatorial Candidates Support Voting Rights Minnesota: Resident Arrested for Voting Posted Date:5/8/2009 6:17:25 PM

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Read Advocacy Material: Advocates Call on Congress to Support Youth PROMISE Act

Posted on May 07, 2009
A coalition of civil rights, religious and juvenile justice groups held a juvenile justice forum today calling on Congress to pass the Youth PROMISE Act, a bill that would use evidence-based prevention and intervention strategies to curb youth violence and gang activities...

Read News: Advocates Call on Congress to Support Youth PROMISE Act

Read News: Court to rule on long juvenile sentences

Posted on May 04, 2009
The Supreme Court has agreed to rule on the constitutionality of life prison terms without parole for juveniles who commit crimes other than murder in their teen years. The issue stems from two Florida juvenile cases involving a 13 and 17 year old...

Read Advocacy Material: National Month of Advocacy Lobby Day an Empowering Success for Crack Reform

Posted on May 01, 2009
Nearly 100 supporters from around the U.S. descended on Capitol Hill this week to lobby for the reform of the harsh crack cocaine sentences that have existed for 23 years. Part of the Crack the Disparity coalition's National Month of Advocacy, the National Lobby Day was an empowering success as constituents from nearly 20 states met with their Congressional representatives Tuesday, April 28, following a breakfast briefing that rallied constituents to relay the harshness of the current crack cocaine sentencing laws on African-American communities...

Read News: Obama Administration Supports Complete Elimination of Cocaine Sentencing Disparity at Legislative Hearing

Posted on May 01, 2009
In an historic legislative hearing, the United States Department of Justice this week endorsed legislation that would end the 100 to 1 quantity-based sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. Astanding-room only crowd attended the 'Restoring Fairness to Federal Sentencing: Addressing the Crack-Powder Disparity' legislative hearing held by the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, where Lanny A...

Read News: Justice Department Backs Plan to Eliminate Cocaine Sentencing Disparity

Posted on April 30, 2009
'Justice Department officials yesterday endorsed for the first time a plan that would eliminate vast sentencing disparities between possession of powdered cocaine and rock cocaine, an inequity that civil rights groups say has affected poor and minority defendants disproportionately...

Read Advocacy Material: "Restoring Fairness to Federal Sentencing: Addressing the Crack-Powder Disparity" Testimony

Posted on April 28, 2009
April 29 testimony of Marc Mauer submitted to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs' hearing entitled "Restoring Fairness to Federal Sentencing: Addressing the Crack-Powder Disparity." Posted Date: 4/28/2009 10:06:15 AM

Read News: "Restoring Fairness to Federal Sentencing: Addressing the Crack-Powder Disparity" Testimony

Read News: Advocates to Descend on Washington Tuesday to Lobby for Crack Cocaine Sentencing Reform

Posted on April 27, 2009
Nearly 100 advocates will descend on Washington Tuesday to lobby legislators and call for the reform of the harsh federal crack cocaine sentencing laws. The effort is led by the Crack the Disparity Coalition, a host of organizations, including The Sentencing Project, working together to end the 100 to 1 quantity-based sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine...

Read Advocacy Material: Legislative Hearing April 29: "Restoring Fairness to Federal Sentencing: Addressing the Crack-Powder Disparity"

Posted on April 24, 2009
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs will hold a hearing entitled "Restoring Fairness to Federal Sentencing: Addressing the Crack-Powder Disparity" on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building...

Read News: Legislative Hearing April 29: "Restoring Fairness to Federal Sentencing: Addressing the Crack-Powder Disparity"

Read Advocacy Material: The Sentencing Project Applauds Introduction of National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009

Posted on April 21, 2009
The Sentencing Project would like to applaud Senators Webb and Specter for introducing the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009. The commission created by this legislation would establish an organized and proactive approach to studying and advancing programs and policies that promote public safety, while overhauling those practices that are found to be fundamentally flawed...

Read News: April 23 is National Call-In Day to End the Sentencing Disparity Between Crack and Powder Cocaine

Posted on April 21, 2009
On Thursday, April 23, thousands of people across the country will phone their members of Congress to call for an end to the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. They will say that 23 years of a failed policy is long enough...

Read News: Re-entry Documentary, "The Released," Airs Tuesday

Posted on April 20, 2009
'The Released,' a documentary that focuses on the community re-entry of people incarcerated in Ohio state prisons will air on PBS' 'Frontline,' Tuesday, April 28 at 9pm EST. The story takes off from 'The New Asylums,' which featured seriously mentally ill men being shuttled back and forth between a maximum security prison in Ohio and the state's hospital for the criminally insane...

Read News: Support for Treatment Alternatives, Drug Courts Grows

Posted on April 17, 2009
As the Obama Administration vows to commit more resources for the prevention and treatment of drug abuse, drug courts are increasingly being seen as an important tool in advancing this strategy. However, the lack of an effective system of publicly provided drug treatment means that countless Americans are forced to face arrest and court processing in order to access these critical services...

Read Advocacy Material: National Call-In Day Alert

Posted on April 16, 2009
On Thursday, April 23, thousands of people across the country will phone their members of Congress to call for an end to the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. They will say that 23 years of a failed policy is long enough...

Read Advocacy Material: Crack the Disparity Month of Advocacy Activities Highlighted in Quarterly Newsletter

Posted on April 15, 2009
The fourth edition of the Crack the Disparity Coalition's quarterly e-newsletter highlights numerous activities going on during April – Crack the Disparity Month of Advocacy. The newsletter features various tools citizens can use to lobby for sentencing reform, including talking points for Lobby Day on April 28, and telephone scripts to assist advocates in calling congressional members on National Call-in Day scheduled for April 23...

Read News: Crack the Disparity Month of Advocacy Activities Highlighted in Quarterly Newsletter

Read News: New Findings: Sharp Decline in Black Incarceration for Drug Offenses

Posted on April 14, 2009
For the first time in 25 years, since the inception of the "war on drugs," the number of African Americans incarcerated in state prisons for drug offenses has declined substantially, according to a study released today by The Sentencing Project...

Read Advocacy Material: Justice Integrity Act of 2009 (H.R. 1412 & S 495)

Posted on April 10, 2009
Minority populations comprise two-thirds of persons convicted of offenses in federal courts and nearly three-quarters of federal prisoners are either black or Hispanic. While there is a strong perception that there exists elements within the criminal justice system that exacerbates this disparity, the federal government has yet to study the truth of such accusations...

Read News: 25 TO LIFE FOR 0.03 GRAMS OF METHAMPHETAMINE

Posted on April 10, 2009
In 2000, Ali Forutan was convicted of possession of methamphetamine and misuse of an access card without the consent of the cardholder. The latter conviction was reversed by an appellate court, but the conviction for felony possession of 0.03 grams of methamphetamine (equivalent to three one-hundredths of a sugar packet) was sustained...

Read News: Teens locked up for life without a second chance

Posted on April 08, 2009
Approximately 2,000 offenders are serving sentences of life without parole crimes committed when they were juveniles. CNN examines many of these cases and reports that in 73 instances, the offenders were 13 or 14 years old. The Sentencing Project's Ashley Nellis is quoted as saying, "Children aren't just little adults, and it's starting to resonate with people...

Read News: The Sentencing Project Publishes New Report Assessing Impact of Drug Courts

Posted on April 02, 2009
The Sentencing Project is pleased to announce the publication of a new report, Drug Courts: A Review of the Evidence, that assesses the impact of the drug court movement. Since their introduction in 1989, drug courts have received a significant amount of attention by practitioners, policymakers, and the general public...

Read News: New Prison and Jail Figures Show Record Incarceration, Bureau of Justice Statistics Reports

Posted on April 01, 2009
The U.S. prison and jail population has reached a record high exceeding 2.3 million people, according to a new report by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. An analysis of the new data by The Sentencing Project finds broad variation in incarceration trends throughout the nation...

Read News: SENATOR WEBB TO INTRODUCE LEGISLATION FOR NATIONAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE COMMISSION

Posted on March 26, 2009
Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) will introduce today the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2009, a bill to establish a blue-ribbon commission charged with undertaking a 'top-to-bottom review of the entire criminal justice system' and offering recommendations for reform, according to the Virginian Pilot...

Read Advocacy Material: The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2009

Posted on March 24, 2009
The Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2009 (S.678) was introduced today by Senators Leahy (D-VT), Kohl (D-WI), Specter (R-PA), and Durbin (D-IL). This bill strengthens the JJDPA in several important ways, including providing concrete guidance and support to states in their work toward reducing minority overrepresentation in the juvenile justice system...

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