Sanders to roll out criminal justice bill, says we need bold change in our criminal justice system

[Cali_Democrat]

By Jordain Carney
September 08, 2015, 04:18 pm

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Tuesday that he will be introducing a criminal justice reform bill this week, calling the current system "broken."

"My legislation will eliminate federal, state and local contracts for privately run prisons within 2 years. It will reinstate the federal parole system. It will increase oversight and eliminate the overcharging of prisoners by private companies for banking and other services," Sanders, who is running for the Democratic presidential nomination, said in a statement.

He added that it would "end the mandatory quota of immigrants detained. It will require ICE to improve the monitoring of detention facilities and eliminate private detention centers within 2 years."

According to Sanders' campaign, more than 8 percent of those incarcerated in state and federal prisons are in facilities that are privately owned, and most of those detained by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are being held in private facilities.

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Sanders added Tuesday that "we need bold change in our criminal justice system. ....We need to end the tragic reality that the United States has more people in jail than any other country on earth, and that the people being incarcerated are disproportionately black and Hispanic."

Read more:

http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/252965-sanders-to-roll-out-criminal-justice-bill

[elleng]

1. A REINVESTMENT AND REHABILITATION FRAMEWORK FOR AMERICA’S CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM

by Martin O'Malley

America’s criminal justice system is badly in need of reform. For too long our justice system has reinforced our country’s cruel history of racism and economic inequality—remaining disconnected from our founding ideals of life, liberty, and equal treatment under the law.

Our country needs new leadership that will honestly assess our broken criminal justice system and put forward solutions that will:

Ensure that justice is delivered for all Americans—regardless of race, class, or place.
Build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve.
Ensure fairness and equal treatment for all people at every step within our justice system.
We must also strive to make our “corrections” facilities actually achieve rehabilitation. Almost all men and women who serve time in jail or prison return to their former communities. We will be stronger as a nation if all of our fellow Americans are able to find jobs, rebuild their lives, and have a stake in our democracy. There is no such thing as a spare American.

https://martinomalley.com/policy/criminal-justice/

[SonderWoman]

2. Now?