Today, FreedomWorks sent a letter to the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in support of its markup of three smart-on-crime justice reform bills that will receive consideration tomorrow: the COVID-19 Safer Detention Act (S. 312), the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act (S. 601), and the First Step Implementation Act (S. 1014).
On behalf of our activist community, I urge you to contact your representative and ask him or her to cosponsor the Kenneth P. Thompson Begin Again Act, H.R. 1924. Introduced by Reps. Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) and Van Taylor (R-Texas), the Kenneth P. Thompson Begin Again Act would eliminate the age requirement for an individual seeking to have his or her record expunged for a first-time drug offense.
One of the cornerstone principles of the Western legal tradition is the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Over the last century, the imposition of bail requirements for accused offenders has flipped that presumption on its head, frequently making pre-trial freedom contingent on cash bail amounts well above the ability of an average citizen to pay. This issue brief explores how this came to be and aims to set out principles for states to use in reforming their bail guidelines. The goal is a return to a system that truly serves both justice and public safety.
On behalf of our activist community in Ohio, I urge you to support Senate Bill (SB) 3. This bill reforms Ohio’s sentencing laws for low-level, nonviolent offenses and focuses limited prison resources and severe, mandatory minimum sentences for high-level drug traffickers. FreedomWorks supports this approach. To this effect, our activists have sent 27,207 messages in support of Senate Bill 3 to Ohio state legislators over the past year and a half.
Protests in response to the deaths of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor are certainly understandable. The anger and frustration is real, but intimidation, looting, and violence are not acceptable nor constructive ways of expressing this. The scene of mobs surrounding politicians as they were leaving the White House after President Trump accepted the Republican nomination was disgusting. The scene should be prompting mob protesters, as well as Democrats who have encouraged these confrontations, to reconsider their tactics.
The sky is blue, grass is green, it’s a day that ends in ‘y,’ and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai is the subject of disingenuous attacks from the left. This time, they come regarding the substance of the FCC’s upcoming August open meeting tomorrow morning. The Commission is set to tackle a couple of issues: reduction of prison telephone rates and the liberation of more spectrum for developing 5G.
FreedomWorks recently announced the launch of the American Freedom Initiative (AFI), a collaboration headed by former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker. This project aims to help relieve injustices committed against Americans under the criminal justice system and the regulatory state. As part of this project, we will shine a spotlight on some of the individuals the AFI has identified under its National Pardon Project as being particularly hard hit by unjustly harsh criminal sentences for non-violent crimes.
FreedomWorks recently announced the launch of the American Freedom Initiative (AFI), a collaboration headed by former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker. This project aims to help relieve injustices committed against Americans under the criminal justice system and the regulatory state. As part of this project, we will shine a spotlight on some of the individuals the AFI has identified under its National Pardon Project as being particularly hard hit by unjustly harsh criminal sentences for non-violent crimes.
In the past few weeks, Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) has continued to prove that he is a leader when it matters. Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, bill after bill has been rushed through Congress, without ample input from members and with too many items in them to be good.