Sentencing reforms get powerful backer in conservative state
Source: Associated Press
Jeff Amy, Associated Press
Updated 5:58 pm CST, Tuesday, December 11, 2018
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A conservative Republican governor and former sheriff's deputy who once sought longer prison sentences for criminals says he's changed his mind and now wants to make Mississippi's justice system less punitive.
Gov. Phil Bryant's statements came Tuesday at a meeting sponsored by groups including top Republican backers to build support among lawmakers and others for such changes.
The move comes as U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Tuesday that he will accede to President Donald Trump's push to reduce some federal sentences. Bryant is an outspoken Trump supporter.
The governor, who once served as a sheriff's deputy in Hinds County, said that as a state House member, he pushed for a law requiring inmates to serve 85 percent of their sentences in state prison. But he said that he later reconsidered.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Bryant-pledges-support-for-cutting-criminal-13457478.php
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