Legal Commentary

NYTimes: Pass the Second Chance Act

By Jeralyn

The New York Times has an editorial today on the report released by the Pew Center last week and its statistics showing that 1 in every 100 Americans are in jail or prison.

The Times advocates the passage of the Second Chance Act (S. 1060: Recidivism Reduction and Second Chance Act of 2007). The bill would expand services to offenders and their families for reentry into society. In addition, it would:

Direct the Attorney General to award grants for: (1) state and local reentry courts; (2) Comprehensive and Continuous Offender Reentry Task Forces; (3) pharmacological drug treatment services to incarcerated offenders; (4) technology career training for offenders; and (5) mentoring services for reintegrating offenders into the community.

.... [and] Require the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to establish: (1) a prisoner reentry program; and (2) a pilot program for the release of elderly nonviolent offenders (age 60 or older).

Both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have signed as co-sponsors. The bill passed on the House side by a vote 347-62. So who's holding it up in the Senate?

It was Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) who, concerned about the cost, said he needed more time to study it. The bill is now sitting in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Let's get it passed.

Full post as published by TalkLeft on March 10, 2008 (boomark / email).