NPR: Activists Wait For Biden To Take Bold Action On Criminal Justice Reform
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JOHNSON: Just the beginning. Over the past three months, the Justice Department has directed prosecutors to use their discretion when bringing criminal cases rather than throwing the book at every defendant in court. The DOJ has opened sweeping investigations of discrimination by local police departments, with probes underway in Minneapolis and Louisville, Ky. And the Small Business Administration has changed its policy to make emergency loans eligible to formerly incarcerated people. Inimai Chettiar works at the Justice Action Network.
INIMAI CHETTIAR: And when you have 70 million Americans and 1 in 3 adults affected by having criminal records, it actually is a huge thing to allow them to have access to business loans.
JOHNSON: The Biden White House has been talking regularly with Chettiar and others who want to overhaul the justice system.
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JOHNSON: Other advocates credit the Biden team for supporting bipartisan legislation that would finally equalize the penalties for people caught with crack cocaine. Since the 1980s, offenses involving crack have been punished 100 times more harshly than the powder form of the drug, which has been more popular with white people. Chettiar of the Justice Action Network thinks that bill could become law this year. With Congress so closely divided between the two political parties, the odds of legislation that would transform the justice system are pretty slim. That's why advocates are pushing the White House and DOJ to go big now before time runs out.