members nationwide, I am writing to urge you to support H.R. 5143,
the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010.This legislation
passed the House of Representatives on July 27, 2010, and the companion
bill, S. 714, was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee on May 6,
2010.The legislation establishes an independent Commission charged with
2010.The legislation establishes an independent Commission charged with
the responsibility of initiating a comprehensive examination of America’s
criminal justice system and making recommendations for responsible and
effective reforms. The need for a comprehensive review is clear. At every
stage of the criminal justice process – from the events preceding arrest to the
challenges facing those reentering the community after incarceration – serious
problems undermine basic tenets of fairness and equity, as well as the public’s
expectations for safety. The result is an overburdened, expensive, and often
ineffective criminal justice system. Today, the machinery responsible for criminal
justice is larger and more complex than ever, and the overlap between federal
and state law is greater. The United States imprisons 2.3 million of its people, a
greater percentage than any other nation in the world. When the number of
Americans on probation or parole is included, the total number of people under
criminal justice supervision exceeds 7,300,000, 1 in every 31adults, costing
taxpayers over $57 billion annually. Over-reliance on incarceration and long
sentences is expensive, unsafe for inmates and corrections employees alike,
and unlikely to achieve the goal of rehabilitation. There are inadequate
community resources for the addicted and mentally ill who often end up in
jail and prison. And, despite unprecedented numbers of people incarcerated,
there are also unprecedented numbers of ex-offenders who, after being incarcerated
for lengthy periods, are released without job skills or without treatment for
substance abuse, thus facing increased collateral consequences of conviction. It is
not surprising that recidivism rates are so high. States and localities can do – and
some have done – a lot to institute cost-effective reforms, but there is little
discussion at the federal level about what is wrong with our criminal justice system
and how it could be improved. It has been nearly four decades since the last
comprehensive study of our nation’s criminal justice system, and it is well past time
for another re-examination of our criminal justice priorities: to determine accurately
the measures that hold the promise of reducing the number of future victims, to
assist those who break the law to avoid the downward cycle of recidivism and become
contributing members of their communities, and to assure that taxpayer dollars are
contributing members of their communities, and to assure that taxpayer dollars are
spent wisely. This discussion must include state, local, and federal law enforcement officers,
prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, corrections officials, treatment providers, victims,
probation and parole officers, academics, victim advocacy groups, other public interest
organizations, ex-offenders, and ordinary citizens – all of whom have a tremendous stake
in the justice system.
prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, corrections officials, treatment providers, victims,
probation and parole officers, academics, victim advocacy groups, other public interest
organizations, ex-offenders, and ordinary citizens – all of whom have a tremendous stake
in the justice system.
