JANStaff 2/28/24 JANStaff 2/28/24

U.S. SENATE HOLDS BIPARTISAN HEARINGS ON DISASTROUS STATE OF U.S. PRISONS AND THE URGENT NEED FOR REFORM

Today, the Senate held two important hearings on the urgent need for reform in prisons. The Senate Judiciary convened a full committee hearing in an effort to find ways to prevent deaths of incarcerated individuals in federal prisons, while the Subcommittee on Criminal Justice and Counterterrorism held a subsequent hearing examining the crisis of inadequate correctional staffing and its toll on both corrections officers and incarcerated persons.

Coming in the wake of a new bombshell DOJ watchdog report showing over 300 preventable deaths in federal prisons over an eight-year period, the Senatorial hearings covered issues related to the operation and management of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) that have contributed to preventable deaths in custody, including the overuse of solitary confinement, BOP employee misconduct, inadequate medical care, poor facilities maintenance, and critical staffing shortages.

JANStaff 5/26/23 JANStaff 5/26/23

FORMER GOP CONGRESSMAN COLLINS CORRECTS THE RECORD ON CLAIMS BY CANDIDATE RON DESANTIS ON PUBLIC SAFETY

“No one wants to see Republicans be successful in 2024 more than I do,” said former Congressman Doug Collins, author of the First Step Act. “Voters have made it clear: Americans want stronger economies and safer communities, and the First Step Act has been delivering on both those priorities.

JANStaff 2/22/23 JANStaff 2/22/23

Second chances for prisoners is not just a moral imperative — it's an economic one

For years, criminal justice advocates have argued employment is one of the most important benchmarks for people’s reentry after prison to turn their life around successfully. Thankfully, both parties now see second chances as a moral imperative.