The ever-growing federal justice system is broken. Archaic policies from the 80s and 90s encourage corruption, waste taxpayer money, ruin the lives of nonviolent criminals, and ultimately contribute to the very problems they address.

PROFILE: Mandrel Stuart

On June 22, the House Judiciary Committee brought in outside experts to examine the allegations of misconduct against IRS Commissioner John Koskinen. Conservatives point to overwhelming evidence that Koskinen lied before the House Judiciary Committee, obstructed the ability of Congress to uncover the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups, and is responsible for destruction of evidence.

Weldon Angelos’s story has become known around the country as a horrifying example of how harsh mandatory minimums can ruin the lives of non-violent criminals and their families. Angelos was sentenced in 2004 to 55 years for drug-related crimes. Judge Paul G. Cassell, who handed down the sentence, was vocal about his frustration with a system that would have Angelos spend the rest of his life incarcerated while child rapists and airplane hijackers received significantly shorter sentences.

On Wednesday, May 18 FreedomWorks Director of Communications Jason Pye traveled to Columbus, Ohio to be part of a panel for the Fair Sentencing and Fair Chances National Tour by the Coalition for Public Safety. The panel was co-hosted by the Buckeye Institute and focused on a bipartisan push for justice reform.

Liberty Kitty has learned the hard way that overcriminalization and excessive regulation ruins lives and hurts the economy. She was prevented from grooming neighborhood kittens because she did not have the time or money it would take to become licensed, and she was incarcerated for 7 cat years under a mandatory minimum sentencing law for a non-violent crime.

On Wednesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform held a hearing to examine employee misconduct at the EPA. Misconduct has continued at the EPA despite repeated reform efforts and multiple hearings. Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) opened the hearing by calling the EPA “one of the most toxic places in the federal government to work.” That is a big claim, and one that should alarm conservatives and libertarians who consciously worry about corruption, protectionism, and bureaucracy in the federal government.

FreedomWorks has written previously about how occupational licensure laws hurt the economy, small businesses, and people without the means to get a government issued license. However, occupational licensure is also a justice reform issue.