FCNL Urges Congress to Create National Criminal Justice Commission

May 27, 2010

27 May 2010

RE: Cosponsor H.R. 5143, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010

Dear Representative:

I write on behalf of the Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) to urge you to cosponsor the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010 (H.R. 5143), a bill that would create a national commission to examine and reshape the United States' criminal justice system.

As people of faith guided by the spiritual values of the Religious Society of Friends, FCNL's work on criminal justice is led by the call for right relationships among all people. We believe that the criminal justice system must be transformed in order to return rehabilitated offenders to society with the restoration of their full rights and obligations. We recognize that incarceration of violent and destructive individuals may be necessary to protect society. However, we believe that in the United States incarceration is severely over-used as a response to crime, and we urge the government to examine and implement programs offering prevention, education, treatment, and rehabilitation.

The U.S. prison population has skyrocketed over the past two decades. The United States has only 5% of the world's population, but 25% of the world's prison population. In total, 7.3 million people in this country are incarcerated, on probation, or on parole. The U.S. leads the world in incarceration of its citizens. This legislation would address the rising incarceration rate by examining and re-focusing incarceration policies on crimes that threaten public safety.

H.R. 5143 also calls on the Commission to make recommendations about the nation's drug laws, which contribute heavily to over-incarceration, and to assess meaningful re-entry programs for ex-offenders. Incarceration based on drug offenses has increased sharply in the past three decades. Moreover, African Americans account for only 14 percent of monthly drug users, but they comprise 74 percent of the drug users sentenced to prison. Racial discrepancies exist throughout the criminal justice system; one in eight African American young men is in prison or jail on any given day. By identifying reforms in drug laws and recommending rehabilitation programs, H.R. 5143 would take important strides in addressing the disproportionate impact that the current prison system has on minority communities.

The Friends Committee on National Legislation urges you to co-sponsor H.R. 5143 and join the efforts to restore this nation's commitment to meaningful public safety. H.R. 5143 would lead to reforms in the prison system that would focus on public safety, address the racial disparity in incarceration, and restore rehabilitated offenders to society.

For questions or comment, please contact Rebecca Sheff, Legislative Assistant on Immigration, Human Rights, and Civil Liberties.

Sincerely,

Ruth Flower
Legislative Director