Congress on verge of rare bipartisan accord to reform prison sentencing

[Geee]

Washington Examiner:

Congress is on the verge of a rare bipartisan accord to reform federal sentencing laws.

 

While Republicans and Democrats in the next weeks will be dueling over federal spending limits, a rare bipartisan Senate working group will likely introduce legislation aimed at melding prison reform with reductions in minimum sentencing laws.

 

According to Senate GOP aides, the bipartisan group "is very close to an agreement," on final legislative language, and a bill is expected as early as this week.

 

The House has been at work on a criminal justice reform initiative since June, according to GOP aides, but is not ready to announce specific legislation.

[Valin]

@Geee

More Here

&

Sentenced to be snookered
Paul Mirengoff
October 16, 2015


The Weekly Standard has published an article Bill Otis and I wrote opposing the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015. We thank the Standard for enabling us to sound the alarm on the effort, by Senators who should know better, to undo two decades of success in the fight against crime.

I also want to thank readers who, in response to my request, called Senators to demand hearings on the legislation. There is good news and bad news on this front.

The good news is that there will be a hearing on Monday afternoon. The bad news is that the hearing looks to be both perfunctory and one-sided. The first “panel” will consist of an Obama Justice Department official arguing in favor of the legislation. The second will consist of multiple witnesses only one of whom, as far as I can tell, will dissent. It’s also notable that the hearing will take place on the Monday after a recess. I was told that the last time the Committee used this ploy was for the comprehensive immigration legislation in 2013.

(Snip)

 

In defending the legislation before the Heritage Foundation, Sen. Mike Lee, one of the Republican co-sponsors, had to admit in response to a question that not a single federal crime would be taken off the books under his bill. Lee said that a response to over-criminalization is the next step.

 

One can only imagine what will happen if Senator Lee asks Patrick Leahy, Chuck Schumer, and Dick Durbin to take that next step. I expect that they will either laugh in his face or demand the further slashing, if not the elimination, of mandatory minimum sentences.

 

(Snip)