We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.

WHERE’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM?

Some advocates are starting to lose patience with the Biden Administration’s lack of a concrete criminal justice reform package.

Kara Gotsch of The Sentencing Project told NPR last week, “The lip service is good, but we need more, more action.” And Kevin Ring, president of FAMM, said while he is guardedly optimistic that the White House is trying to lay the groundwork for more foundational change. “But there‘s also some skepticism that he was going to have to tear down the house that he built in some ways through the sentencing laws and prison policies he not only sponsored but bragged about,” Ring said.

But last Friday, with “Second Chance Month” running out, White House officials held a virtual listening session with criminal justice advocates who were previously incarcerated to receive input on how to advance prison reform through policy.

White House counsel Dana Remus and domestic policy adviser Susan Rice were among the leaders of the conference, which included leaders from 10 advocacy groups such as Forward Justice, the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, and JustLeadershipUSA.

Biden has not yet moved to end the use of the death penalty, despite promising to do so on the campaign trail. And while he has pushed for action on police reform legislation following the conviction of former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in the murder of George Floyd, Biden has kept a distance from legislative negotiations on Capitol Hill as Democratic and Republican lawmakers try to find common ground.

Friday’s meeting was held to commemorate Second Chance Month, a nationwide effort to highlight the challenges faced by people who have been previously convicted.

“Too many people — disproportionately black and brown people — are incarcerated. Too many face an uphill struggle to secure a decent job, stable housing, and basic opportunity when they return from prison,” the White House said in the readout. “Those who have been through the system have particular insight into its shortcomings and the reforms that are needed.”

Whether the listening ripens into a criminal justice reform proposal is anyone’s guess, but with Biden focused on his infrastructure proposal, some suspect reform is not a top Biden priority. USA Today last weekend suggested actions speak louder than platitudes. The paper blasted DOJ’s intransigence in opposing virtually every compassionate release motion filed:

But talk is cheap, and while the administration’s rhetoric is promising, second chances remain few and far between in a federal criminal system where the Department of Justice continues to thwart the administration’s goals by opposing the release of individuals who are rehabilitated and do not pose a risk to the public. Making good on his commitment to criminal justice reform requires more than rhetoric. The Biden administration’s Department of Justice must change course.

NPR, Activists Wait For Biden To Take Bold Action On Criminal Justice Reform (April 28, 2021)

The Hill, White House officials meet virtually with criminal justice reform advocates (May 1, 2021)

USA Today, Biden administration needs to walk the walk on second chances for prisoners (May 1, 2021)

– Thomas L. Root