Greg Snowden: Justice rebooted in Mississippi
It is a fact that 95 percent of people who enter prison ultimately will leave and return to their local communities. Acknowledging this, SRCA offers incentives to individuals to successfully complete education, vocational, mental health and drug addiction programs that will reduce their likelihood of going back to a life of crime once they get out of federal prison.
“Reforming our federal criminal justice system doesn’t require us to avert our eyes from a person’s crimes or make excuses that blame someone or something else for the choices he made,” said one of the bill’s supporters, U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, one of the most conservative members of the Senate. “No, it requires looking squarely at the facts of the case, no matter how ugly or wicked; holding offenders directly and personally accountable for their crimes; and devising a punishment that fits both the crime and the criminal.”
First and foremost, justice must always be sure and certain. But there are steps we can take to ensure sentences are in line with the severity of a crime, preventing mass incarcerations and easing the burden on taxpayers. Mississippi at the state level has already made great strides for criminal justice reform. I encourage our United States senators to follow state lawmakers’ lead by supporting the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act.
Rep. Greg Snowden
Clarion Ledger
6/18/16
Magnolia Tribune
