DOJ Offers a Mixed Bag Update on First Step Act Implementation
On Monday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) put out a release outlining its intentions for and the status of the implementation of the First Step Act. Signed into law…
Support and Whip YES on the First Step Act, S. 3649
On behalf of FreedomWorks’ activist community, I urge you to contact your senators and ask them to support the First Step Act, S. 3649, and to co-sponsor and whip YES…
Florida’s Amendment No. 11 is Necessary to Address Over-Incarceration
As the 2018 midterm elections approach, voters in all 50 states will cast their ballots for members of Congress and many will cast their ballots for senators. Some ballots will…
Tom Cotton Is Wildly Wrong About Justice Reform
The effort to reform the federal prison system is gaining a lot of attention. President Donald Trump has expressed support for prison reform on multiple occasions, including a mention in…
Fair Sentencing Act Retroactivity: Addressing the Sentencing Disparity of Crack Cocaine vs. Powder Cocaine
College basketball star Len Bias died of a powder cocaine overdose while celebrating his number one draft pick in the 1986 NBA Draft. Because his death was widely, although…
Tailored Fix to Enhancements Under 21 U.S.C. 841 and 851 Is Common Sense
One sentencing reform provision considered for inclusion in a reform package as part of a deal to move President Trump’s priority legislation, the FIRST STEP Act, through the Senate…
Criminal Justice Reform Success Story Unfolds in Utah
In 2015, Utah legislators passed and Governor Gary Hulburt signed into law a package, HB 348, to reform its state criminal justice system. This package included new concepts such…
In the Case of Fair Sentencing Act Retroactivity, USSC Report Lends Resounding Endorsement
Retroactive application of the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA) which became law in 2010 and reduced the sentencing disparity for crack and powder cocaine from 100-to-1 to 18-to-1 has been…
“Unjust, Cruel, and Even Irrational”: Stacking Charges Under 924(c)
“I think the stacking issue is a problem…I would support reform of the stacking provisions somewhat like you have it in the bill today.” – Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), on…
Expansion of the Federal Safety Valve for Mandatory Minimum Sentences
The Sentencing Reform Act and the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act offered several modifications to federal sentencing laws. Although these bills did not go as far as the…