Search Results for: our under-incarceration problem

Tom Cotton on the leniency-for-criminals legislation

Featured image Our friend Sen. Tom Cotton has written an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal opposing the latest jailbreak legislation that I discussed here. He argues: [U]nder no circumstances should Congress cut mandatory minimum sentences for serious crimes or give judges more discretion to reduce those sentences. That foolish approach is not criminal-justice reform—it’s a jailbreak that would endanger communities and undercut President Trump’s campaign promise to restore law and order. »

U.S. correctional population declines for ninth straight year

Featured image At the end of last year, the Department of Justice reported that the number of adults supervised by the U.S. correctional system dropped for the ninth consecutive year in 2016. The correctional population includes persons supervised in the community on probation or parole and those incarcerated in prisons or local jails. From 2007 to 2016, the proportion of the adult population under the supervision of U.S. correctional authorities decreased by »

Failure to incarcerate, MN edition

Featured image When I began practicing law, I occasionally had to sit in court and wait my turn to argue my case while the judge sentenced defendants who pleaded guilty to various offenses. I drew the conclusion from what I saw that it was quite difficult to get yourself sent to prison. You almost had to work at it. It was a revelation to me. That was a while back, but things »

Chronic criminal assassinates NYPD officer

Featured image Alexander Bonds, an ex-con with a long rap sheet, shot and killed New York City police officer Miosotis Familia, a mother of three, as she sat in a patrol car in the Bronx. The attack was unprovoked. It was an assassination. According to the New York Times: Around 12:30 a.m., as Officer Familia neared the end of her shift, Mr. Bonds walked up to the vehicle and fired a single »

The tragic reality of sentencing reform

Featured image Steve Cook is president of the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys. He has been a key figure in the fight against softer sentencing for federal drug felons and the early release of such felons. Writing in LifeZette, Steve explains why the sentencing reform legislation being pushed in Congress would have tragic consequences for innocent Americans. He writes: Not all crimes are preventable — but some are. The serious »

Sen. Tom Cotton on Crime and Justice in America

Featured image Senator Tom Cotton delivered an important address today at the Hudson Institute on crime and justice in America. Cotton said he believes that the criminal-leniency bill in the Senate — which would, among other things, lead to the release of many thousands of federal drug felons from prison — is dead in this year’s Congress. What the Senator didn’t say is that he deserves much of the credit for rallying »