CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM TAKES CENTER STAGE AT RNC; ALICE MARIE JOHNSON TO SPEAK IN PRIME TIME; TRUMP CAMPAIGN SPENDS MILLIONS ON ADS HIGHLIGHTING CRIMINAL JUSTICE RECORD
WHILE YOU WERE LOOKING THE OTHER WAY…
If issuing a pardon live from the RNC isn’t enough to convince you that Trump is betting big on criminal justice reform being a political winner, maybe this Axios report will. The Trump campaign has spent $6 million so far on Facebook ads touting his record of support for criminal justice reform measures, including his signing of the bipartisan First Step Act. That’s more money than he’s spent on Facebook advertising for any other issue. And while February may seem like a lifetime ago, political observers will remember that the Trump campaign devoted their first campaign commercial – a Super bowl ad – to the President’s work on criminal justice reform.
What’s more, Alice Marie Johnson - a criminal justice reform advocate who served 21 years of a life sentence for a nonviolent drug conviction before she was granted clemency by President Trump, will speak in prime time during tonight’s RNC programming. Earlier this week, Ms. Johnson joined Justice Action Network and former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer to share her story of redemption, a preview of what millions of Americans will hear tonight.
THE IMPACT…
“Four years ago, Justice Action Network hosted its own criminal justice reform event in Cleveland at the RNC Convention, because no speakers were talking about the issue on the main stage,” recalled Executive Director Holly Harris. “This year, bipartisan criminal justice reform achievements are touted in every other speech, and Ms. Johnson’s groundbreaking prime time speaking role will solidify the issue as a major theme of this Convention. It is truly incredibly how far we’ve come, and yet the throngs of Americans taking to the streets demanding racial justice show just how far we have to go to achieve a system that is fair to all communities.”
Both major political parties are now running on platforms that support criminal justice reform, not just because it’s sound policy, but because it’s smart politics.
BY THE NUMBERS…
If this election comes down to the support of suburban women, then look no further than what the polling tells us:
By a margin of 59%-13%, women said they would be more likely to vote for a member of congress who supported criminal justice reform.
63% of women said they would be less likely to vote for a member of congress who blocked reforms, compared to just 15% who said they would be more likely to vote for a reform opponent.
Fewer than 20% of women believe the justice system is succeeding in efforts to deal with people suffering from mental illness or drug addiction, and just 18% believe we are rehabilitating those in jail or prison so they can successfully reenter society.
WHILE YOU’RE HERE…SEE WHAT ALICE MARIE JOHNSON HAD TO SAY AHEAD OF HER PRIME TIME RNC SPEAKING SLOT:
“When they called my name over the intercom, a deafening shout went up over the entire prison,” Alice Marie Johnson told interviewer Ari Fleischer about the day she learned Pres. Trump had granted her clemency. “They were begging me, please don’t forget about us, and I promised the women that day that I would never forget about them, I would never stop fighting for them, and I haven’t. I’ve been living this since I came home. For these next two days, I’m in wonderment that I have a big opportunity to address the country, and I hope that people will see what redemption looks like.”
Check out the highlights of her conversation HERE.