GOP pushes new minimum sentencing laws
The debate over criminal justice reform has taken a head-spinning turn on Capitol Hill.
After months of debate over whether to curb mandatory minimum prison sentences, Republicans are now going in the opposite direction.
A new border security bill includes mandatory minimum sentences for certain immigrants who try to re-enter the country after they’ve already been deported and for people convicted of violent crimes against judges and police officers.
The Hill reviewed a draft copy of the legislation, which is still being hammered out by Sen. John Cornyn (Texas), the No. 2 Senate Republican, and House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas).
The legislation includes “Kate’s law,” a measure named for Kathryn Steinle, a 32-year-old woman killed in 2015 by a felon who had been deported but returned to the United States. The law effectively creates a three-strike rule. Immigrants with prior aggravated felony convictions or two prior convictions for illegal re-entry would get a mandatory 5-year sentence.
President Trump repeatedly talked about Steinle during his presidential campaign as he backed policies cracking down on legal and illegal immigration.
http://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/335615-gop-pushes-new-minimum-sentencing-laws?rnd=1496159666
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