Contact: Kenza Hadj-Moussa, 612-386-9556
NEWS STATEMENT
The FIRST STEP Act is a small step toward criminal justice reform, though concerns loom
St. Paul, MN —Last night, the U.S. Senate passed the FIRST STEP Act, bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation. Poised to pass the House, the bill reduces harsh sentencing and the length of mandatory minimum sentences and includes early release programs for non-violent, low-risk offenders. The FIRST STEP Act only affects those in the federal system, and excludes inmates from benefitting from provisions like the “earned time credits” based on algorithms, immigration status, and offense type.
TakeAction Minnesota Executive Director Elianne Farhat released the following statement:
“The FIRST STEP Act is exactly that—a first step. Our broken criminal justice system unfairly incarcerates millions of people in the U.S. and thousands of Minnesotans each year. This is a small, but meaningful, victory for many of the formerly and currently incarcerated people and their families who have been leading the movement for criminal justice reform in our country. The FIRST STEP Act reminds us that criminal justice reform is not a partisan issue, it’s about our families and our communities.
While a step in the right direction—it’s not enough. In addition to its limited scope, we have serious concerns about provisions in the bill supporting the privatization of post-prison rehabilitation programs so that companies like CoreCivic and GEO Group might profit. Mass incarceration replaced the system of slavery in our country—and we will not allow it to simply continue under the guise of for-profit post-prison rehabilitation.
Minnesotans are serious about criminal justice reform. State and local leaders can make additional progress by reforming sentencing laws, ending cash bail, and restoring the vote for over 50,000 Minnesotans kept out of our democracy. TakeAction Minnesota will continue to organize and build power with those directly affected by our broken criminal justice system until we restore dignity and justice for all our communities.”
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TakeAction Minnesota is a statewide, independent, multiracial people’s organization working to advance democracy and equity through organizing, political action, and campaigns. The organization has offices in St. Paul, Duluth, and St. Cloud.
