The Koch Brothers and the ACLU are cheering the Senate for passing a bipartisan criminal justice reform bill, the First Step Act, focusing on offering less jail time and more drug rehab for drug offenders.
They are not cheering Senator Marion Michael Rounds, who broke with his seatmate Senator John Thune and joined eleven other cranky Republicans in voting against the First Step Act. Senator Thune has no press release on the vote yet, but Senator Rounds is quick to defend his toughness:
I support the intent of criminal justice reform, particularly for nonviolent offenders, but the First Step Act fails to adequately protect South Dakota families from violent criminals who should remain behind bars. We can’t be soft on crime when we’re facing a serious drug epidemic across our state and nation. Without the support of our attorney general and local law enforcement officials – who will be the ones dealing with dangerous criminals released early from the federal prison system – I could not in good conscience vote in favor of legislation that poses a threat to public safety.
Allowing violent criminals to walk free may reduce federal expense, but it certainly doesn’t make society safer. Reducing recidivism rates for non-violent offenders is a worthy pursuit. However, this legislation does not restrict early release to non-violent only, but unfortunately did not exclude many violent offenders, putting the public at risk [Sen. Mike Rounds, press release, 2018.12.19].
Yeah, yeah, yeah, Willie Horton’s gonna kill us all. Blame Donald Trump: he’s the one reversing his Ravnsborgian Horton-phobia and lock-em-up-edness thanks to the advice of his good friend Kim Kardashian. (You know, I’m o.k. with the First Step Act, but that last sentence says many things are wrong with the Trump Administration.)
The House passed a version of this bill without sentencing reform in May by a large margin. Speaker Paul Ryan looks forward to sending it to the White House to come law.
We’ve come a long way as a country in learning the hard way why the “war on drugs” approach didn’t work. Just like all zero-tolerance policies. It’s too bad that bloated prison budgets, rather than the high rates of black, first-time-offending, non-violent drug offenders being incarcerated was the reason, … but in the end, they got it right.
Strange that Rounds seems to be fixated on the “violent” offenders. So if they are violent offenders that also commited drug use crimes, wouldn’t they have been convicted of other violent crimes that would have to be punished separately?
Unless there is some form of drug use that is “violent”? Like violently smoking weed?
If it’s Round. Flush it down.
Is it drugs that make them violent or easy access to every gun imaginable that makes them violent? Funny, there are more restrictions on drugs and vicious animals than on guns.
Drugs and dogs are regulated because they can kill you. Guns are designed to kill you.
I have the same question as TAG – how does this bill reduce sentences or free violent offenders? I too thought it was designed to address non-violent offenses, primarily drug offenses, and make various prison reforms to assist in rehabilitation and establish more human conditions.
What is Rounds afraid of – an unshackled female federal prisoner in labor smacking someone while she delivers?
Good points, guys. Does Rounds really mean to say in supporting this modest bill, Senator Thune actually voted to release violent offenders?
One violent-crime victim says the fringe GOP opponents were just trying to delay a bill that most victims support. She also notes the First Step Act will “incentivize people to participate in rehabilitative programming through Earned Time Credits and earlier transfers to halfway houses or home confinement. The brutal shackling of pregnant and postpartum women would come to an end. The Prison Rape Elimination Act would get much-needed compliance standards, crucial to ending a cycle of violence and recidivism.” Gee, sounds like this bill will make us safer, Senator Rounds!