Religious right to start pressure campaign around criminal justice reform

[DonViejo]

Source: Politico




The Faith and Freedom Coalition will ask members to flood Mitch McConnell and other Republicans with calls backing the Senate legislation.

By LORRAINE WOELLERT 11/22/2018 07:58 AM EST

Religious leaders buoyed by a successful alliance with the Trump administration are readying a pressure campaign with a new target: Senate conservatives who are blocking criminal justice reform.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, backed by Republicans with evangelical ties such as Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, is blocking a Trump-approved plan to revamp the criminal justice system, the latest priority of religious groups after they focused much of their earlier efforts on stocking the courts with conservative judges.

McConnell so far has resisted efforts to bring to the floor the bipartisan bill that would reduce maximum penalties for repeat offenders and give judges more discretion in handing down prison sentences, knowing it has already created deep divisions within the GOP caucus.

But religious leaders — who have the weight of President Donald Trump behind them — are preparing to pressure McConnell and other senators, such as Cruz and David Perdue (R-Ga.), to change their minds.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/22/religious-right-criminal-justice-reform-1009543

[bitterross]

1. Nice to see them do something worthwhile for a change

Even a broken clock is right twice a day. So they're finally hitting on something that needs to be done.

Hopefully there won't be an idiot, cretin like Stephen Miller who will convince Trump to flip on this like so many issues in the past.

[pecosbob]

2. It masquerades as a reform bill

It's really about corporate interests pillaging the Treasury...

[hedda_foil]

3. That's interesting. Do you have a link or two please?

[pecosbob]

10. The devil is in the details

https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/5682.

Some of things that worry me:

First and foremost nothing in it is retroactive. None of the good time recalculation will apply to prisoners who are already sentenced.

The bill authorizes Federal Prison Industries to sell products to new markets such as the District of Columbia government and nonprofit organizations. Among other things, it removes the restrictions on who UNICOR (privately-held prison industries that employ slave-labor) can and cannot sell finished goods. BOP coerces inmates to work in UNICOR jobs with threats of removal of privileges and restriction to what is called 'maintenance pay' which is less than twenty dollars a month.

It ostensibly establishes a 500 mile rule to bring federal prisoners closer to home, but leaves the determination subject to the needs of BOP and make the decision final and removes the option of judicial appeal.

It prohibits discrimination against a program, treatment, regimen, group, company, charity, person, or entity based on the fact that it may be or is faith-based. This decidedly worries me. I see Kinder Care Infant prisons and gay-conversion therapy ahead.

The bill expands data collection requirements regarding the National Prisoner Statistics Program. This also worries me.

Former Attorney General Eric Holder said reformers should keep their eyes on the bigger prize. “Momentum for sentencing reform is being derailed by an effort that is misguided, ideological and outdated,” he tweeted. “The narrow ‘prison reform’ bill won’t deliver the transformative change we need. The only way to achieve that is by passing bipartisan, comprehensive sentencing reform.” https://www.themarshallproject.org/2018/05/22/is-the-first-step-act-real-reform

https://civilrights.org/vote-no-first-step-act/

[mountain grammy]

11. Thank you for this.

I was suspicious of the evangelical support. Their blind support of trump causes me to question their motives.

[hedda_foil]

15. Thank you for this! I can see how terribly it's set up for abuse.😟

[PatSeg]

7. How do you mean?

[NBachers]

4. As someone who has spent too much time in the Federal prison system:

I may not like the political motivations of these groups, but I'm more supportive of their prisoner advocacy movement than against it. During the time I was down, I took advantage of anything that would help and develop my spiritual giblets. Many people and groups came in and volunteered their time to put on music, programs, and services. I found, without fail, that these people were genuinely concerned with our well-being, and were walking their walk. They were real people with their own lives and stories.

While my family struggled on the outside and my wife left me, there was little I could do from inside but offer written support, and send out what little money I made in my Prison Industries job. As the life I knew disintegrated, I had to find a way to work on my present and future circumstances. These groups were a lifeline of hope, consolation, and affirmation. They allowed me to connect with like-minded inmates, and keep up my associations with the outside world.


My inmates-rights advocacy landed me in hot water, and got me thrown in the hole and transferred to a higher-security institution. As my time there grew short, the Prison Industries staff offered to let me stay on longer, because they liked the job I was doing for them. I politely declined. I'm one of the few success stories that hasn't been pulled back into the system.


There's a point where politics and division can be eclipsed by higher values. I know the Evangelical movement is responsible for many of the nightmares that have befallen the USA, and the world's populations. But life's a bit different on the inside of our prison system. I'll give credit to the people who share their light and their humanity with the inmate population.

[Kali]

8. thanks for posting your perspective

and your experience. religion sometimes helps nudge people to a better place and while I am not sure it balances out in the long run, for individuals it can be a big difference.

[mountain grammy]

12. Thanks for this perspective

It’s appreciated.

[allgood33]

16. Real Christians actually do a lot to help inmates and their families. Be aware that Trump is using

the good they do to cover for the corporate prison-industrial-complex (PIC) schemes for corporate gain. The reforms needed and pushed by the Obama administration for sentencing reforms are at the bottom of the GOP and Trump's list.

[Andy823]

5. So how much money

Is McConnell getting paid to stop this bill?

[PatSeg]

6. Yes, I wonder

He certainly seems to be outnumbered on this one.

[Initech]

9. Fuck the religious right!

[Honeycombe8]

13. I wonder if this includes Jared's plans to privatize the prison system? nt

[Progressive Jones]

14. Any criminal justice reform must immediately abolish private prisons. nt