Thread by @Headsnipe011

President Donald J. Trump Calls on Congress to Pass the FIRST STEP Act

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whitehouse.gov/briefings-stat…

Our whole Nation benefits if former inmates are able to reenter society as productive, law-abiding citizens.

President Donald J. Trump

CALLING FOR BIPARTISAN ACTION: President Donald J. Trump is calling on Congress to take action and support the bipartisan prison reform legislation, the FIRST STEP Act.

• President Trump supports the FIRST STEP Act, which will help improve our Nation’s criminal justice system.
• The FIRST STEP Act enjoys widespread support across the political spectrum.

• Many of the reforms included in this legislation passed the House in an overwhelming, bipartisan vote of 360–59 in May 2018.

• Republicans and Democrats in the Senate worked with the White House to craft a bipartisan sentencing reform compromise, which has been added to the legislation.

• So far, seven major police organizations, more than 2,700 faith and evangelical leaders, and hundreds of conservative organizations and leaders support this legislation.

MAKING AMERICA SAFER AND FAIRER: The FIRST STEP Act will reform America’s prisons to make our communities safer and our justice system fairer.

• Nearly all incarcerated Americans will one day leave prison, and the goal of this legislation is to make sure they do not return.

• The FIRST STEP Act uses a targeted approach toward a specific population of Federal prisoners who will eventually be released.

• The FIRST STEP Act will promote prisoner participation in vocational training, educational coursework, or faith-based programs, and in turn help them successfully reenter society.

• Prisoners will be able to earn credits that reduce the amount of time spent in prison.
• As a result, prisoners will gain job skills, drug treatment, and education that prepare them to reenter American communities as productive members of society.

• The legislation also seeks to place Federal inmates closer to their communities in order to facilitate family visitation.

• This is a true first step in creating a fairer justice system by reforming mandatory minimums, which have created racially discriminatory outcomes and increased overcrowding and costs.

• The legislation reduces the enhanced penalties for certain non-violent repeat drug offenders and eliminates the three-strike mandatory life provision.

• Certain nonviolent offenders will be able to petition courts for a review of their sentence, which can be reduced only after the judge reviews all circumstances, including public safety, criminal history, and the nature of the offense.

IMPROVING THE PRISON SYSTEM: Taking steps to better prepare inmates for reentry into our society and communities will help reduce recidivism.

• We can improve society for all by better equipping prisoners being released for successful reintegration into society.

• Today, one in three American adults has some type of criminal record and more than two million Americans are in prisons, including 181,000 in Federal prison.

• More than 95% of these prisoners will eventually leave prison and face the challenge of restarting and reintegrating their lives.

• Our prisons can do much more to prepare inmates for release, addressing the fact that roughly 77% of State inmates and 38% of Federal inmates are rearrested within five years of release.