Constitutional Law

Senator To Take On Nation's Overflowing Prisons

Virginia Senator Jim Webb (D) is attracting attention -- and some praise -- for a measure he plans to introduce this spring on finding ways to reform the criminal justice system. The Sentencing Law and Policy Blog lauds Webb’s endeavor, saying that although “too few federal lawmakers are concerned with overflowing prisons, due to an ailing economy and tight budgets nearly every state lawmaker is deeply concerned about how best to cut prison populations without hurting public safety.”

The blog cites, a recent Washing Post article on Webb’s prison reform work, but notes that it “makes Senator Webb seem like an odd duck for having this priority.” The Post article maintains that “as the country struggles with two wars overseas and an ailing economy, overflowing prisons are the last thing on many lawmakers’ minds.” The article, however, does cite Pew Center research showing that the United States “has imprisoned a higher percentage of its population than any other nation,” and Webb’s concern that a “disproportionate number” of those behind bars are African American.

The New York Times in a recent editorial also cites the nation’s propensity for packing its prisons, noting that it has “the world’s highest reported incarceration rate.” The editorial applauds Webb’s interest in prison reform, saying that he is “courageously stepping into the void, calling for a national commission to re-assess criminal justice policy” and urges other lawmakers to join him.  

Full post as published by ACS Blog on January 06, 2009 (boomark / email).