American Bar Association Offenders

 On behalf of the American Bar Association and its nearly 400,000

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

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

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.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/38089236/S-714-ABA-Endorsement

Fact Sheet Statistics

With  five percent of the world’s population, our country now houses twenty five percent of the 
world’s reported prisoners. More than 2.3 million Americans are now in prison, and another 
5 million remain on probation or parole. The United States has  by far the world’s  highest  
incarceration  rate.  

Our prison population has skyrocketed over the past two decades as we have incarcerated 
more people for non-violent crimes and acts driven by mental illness or drug dependence.

The costs to our federal, state, and local governments of keeping repeat offenders in the criminal 
justice system continue to grow during a time of increasingly tight budgets.

Existing practices too often incarcerate people who do not belong in prison, taking resources 
away from locking up high-risk, violent offenders who are a threat to our communities.

Transnational criminal activity, much of it directed by violent gangs and cartels from Latin America, 
Asia and  Europe, has permeated the country.  Mexican cartels alone now operate in more than 
230 communities across the country.

Incarceration for drug crimes has had a disproportionate impact on minority communities, despite 
virtually identical levels of drug use across racial and ethnic lines.

Post-incarceration re-entry programs are haphazard and often nonexistent, undermining public safety 
and making it extremely difficult for ex-offenders to become full, contributing members of society.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/49341120/Fact-Sheet-S306-Feb2011

Statistics for Today

• 5% of the world's population, our country now houses 25% of the world's reported prisoners.
• The number of incarcerated drug offenders has soared 1200% since 1980.
• Four times as many mentally ill people are in prisons than in mental health hospitals.
• Approximately 1 million gang members reside in the U.S., many of them foreign-based, and Mexican cartels operate in 230+ communities across the country.
• Post-incarceration re-entry programs are haphazard and often nonexistent, undermining public safety and making it extremely difficult for ex-offenders to become full, contributing members of society.