In October, a bipartisan group of senators, led by Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), introduced the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, S. 2123. This historic bill was the product of months of negotiations between some of the most conservative and progressive members of the upper chamber. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), for example, played key roles in the negotiations and were on hand when the bill was formally rolled out. FreedomWorks released a letter of support for the bill shortly after it was marked up in committee.

A new poll surveying voters in battleground states finds broad-based support for justice reform. This comes as welcome news to the groups who have been working on this issue for the last year, providing as it does a counterargument to those lawmakers who continue to drag their feet.

The death of Justice Antonin Scalia sent shockwaves through the conservative movement, and everyone, regardless of their philosophic persuasion, is trying to figure out what the loss of this conservative icon means for the future of the Supreme Court and the Constitution. It is likely, however, that the answer will not come until November.

In a recent interview, National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys (NAAUSA) President Steve Cook criticized legislation, the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, that would make modest changes to federal sentencing laws and require a data-driven approach to reduce prisoners' risk of recidivism through rehabilitative programs. Cook's comments about the legislation, which has already cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee, were directed at proposed changes to 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) and the Armed Career Criminal Act (18 U.S.C. §§ 922(g), 924(e)) that would reduce some sentences and allow people in prison to seek shorter sentences in courts, based on those reforms.