The Crime Report: Trump Wins Kudos For Mentioning Justice Reform During State of Union
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A leading justice advocacy group has praised President Donald Trump for highlighting criminal justice reform in his State of the Union address Tuesday.
“President Trump made a smart strategic choice here,” Holly Harris, executive director and president of the Justice Action Network, said in a press statement.
“Criminal justice reform is one of the most popular, uniting issues I’ve seen in my career in politics, and the message of working with both parties in Congress on the First Step Act appeals to voters across the political spectrum.”
Noting that Trump also mentioned the issue in an ad that ran during the Super Bowl, Harris said “ It’s also a mark of how far we’ve come that a president who ran on a tough-on-crime message is highlighting his work on justice reform and clemency as he kicks off his election year campaign.”
But she added: “We hope that President Trump’s message that he is fully committed to the First Step Act will be heard by the staff at the Department of Justice who have been working to delay the act’s implementation, and in some cases trying to put people who have been released back in federal prison.”