Interesting and critical accounting of Biden Administration s criminal justice work over first 100 days
This new lengthy Law360 piece, headlined Biden Falls Short On Criminal Justice Reform In First 100 Days, provides a fittingly critical review of the Biden Administration s criminal justice work over its first 100 days in office. I recommend the piece in full, and here are some highlights (along with an interesting graphic):
President Joe Biden made a slew of campaign promises on the criminal justice reform front that he has made little progress on in his first 100 days in office, disappointing some advocates who believed he would prioritize criminal justice reform.
Tarahrick Terry’s case is, broadly, a story about regret and redemption. But it’s also a story about how the specific wording in a law can quickly breed confusion in the courts.
The sentencing rule that treated crack cocaine 100 times worse than powder had been in effect for 20 years by the time Mr. Terry was sentenced in 2008.
Why We Wrote This
The sentencing rule treating crack cocaine as 100 times worse than powder is seen by bipartisan critics as a punitive remnant of the war on drugs. The Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear a case that could deliver a telling blow – or a telling victory – for reform.
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Not even much lip service about sentencing reform in Prez Biden s first address to Congress
Prez Joe Biden gave a very lengthy speech this evening (full text here), but it only included a precious few sentences about criminal justice reform. Here are these sentences:
We have all seen the knee of injustice on the neck of Black America. Now is our opportunity to make real progress.
Most men and women in uniform wear their badge and serve their communities honorably. I know them. I know they want to help meet this moment as well.
My fellow Americans, we have to come together. To rebuild trust between law enforcement and the people they serve. To root out systemic racism in our criminal justice system. And to enact police reform in George Floyd’s name that passed the House already.
Under Pressure on Immigration, Biden Gives ICE A Pass on Private Prison Ban
On 2/19/21 at 3:54 PM EST
President Joe Biden has cracked down on private prisons run by the Department of Justice, but his new executive order failed to address other private detention facilities run by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its cross-border wing, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Biden signed Executive Order 14006 six days after his inauguration, which directed that The Attorney General shall not renew Department of Justice contracts with privately operated criminal detention facilities, as consistent with applicable law.
The move was welcomed by prison reform proponents, who have long raised the alarm on reports of inhumane conditions and the broader ethical questions of for-profit incarceration.