Booker, Cárdenas Introduce Bicameral Bill to Improve Public Safety by Addressing Over-Incarceration in U.S. Prisons

Legislation seeks path for returning rehabilitated people to their communities who pose no public safety risk

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and U.S. Representative Tony Cárdenas (D-CA) introduced the bicameral Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act, legislation aimed at reforming the federal criminal justice system and addressing the issues of over-incarceration in U.S. prisons. The bill is being introduced in the last week of Second Chance Month, which recommits our country to helping formerly incarcerated people transition into their communities. The proclamation designating April 2023 as Second Chance Month was issued by President Biden last month.

Over 1.2 million individuals are imprisoned in federal and state facilities, with an additional 636,000 locked up in local jails. Data have shown that there is no compelling public safety justification for nearly 40 percent of the prison population to remain incarcerated. For example, the average sentence of the nearly 66,000 prisoners whose most severe crime was drug possession was over one year. These individuals would be better rehabilitated through treatment or other alternatives. Additionally, states would save an estimated $20 billion per year, and almost $200 billion over 10 years, by adjusting the sentences of individuals who do not pose a public safety risk. These billions in savings would be enough to employ 270,000 new police officers, 360,000 probation officers, or 327,000 school teachers. It is greater than the annual budgets of the United States Departments of Commerce and Labor combined.

“Our nation holds the shameful distinction of being the world’s largest jailer,” said Senator Booker. “Mass incarceration has caused immense harm by tearing families apart, wasting billions of taxpayer dollars, exacerbating racial disparities, and stripping those who are ready to return to their communities of the opportunity to do so. We must take action to reverse this trend and invest in smart solutions that improve public safety and reduce incarceration. I am proud to introduce this bill that supports states in achieving this goal.”

“Growing up in Pacoima, I saw firsthand how ‘tough on crime’ policies disrupt lives, fail to keep communities safe and are ultimately counterproductive,” said Representative Cárdenas. “It is unconscionable that the United States has one of the highest incarceration rates in the world. We know that ‘smart on crime’ methods improve safety, save taxpayer dollars and reduce recidivism. It’s past time to stop wasting resources on inhumane policies that prioritize wasteful incarceration over efficient, effective rehabilitation. I am proud to partner with Senator Booker to reverse our nation’s course and promote a more fair and just system.”

Specifically, the Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act would:

·         Provide grants to states to study the drivers of unnecessary incarceration and additional money to reduce prison populations;

·         Provide $2 billion over 10 years for states that are able to demonstrate a reduction in their prison population by 20 percent over three years with an additional three years of funding if implementation is successful;

·         Prohibit states from enacting overly punitive sentencing laws that do not have evidence-based effects on crime, such as mandatory minimum rules or truth-in-sentencing statutes, during the grant period;

·         Establish subgrants for organizations led by formerly incarcerated individuals or that primarily serve people who have been arrested or convicted.

The Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act would provide an opportunity for the United States to finally address mass incarceration on a national scale. It would encourage states to reduce unnecessary incarceration in a smart and safe manner while promoting humane and equitable criminal justice policies.

“Federal funding has driven mass incarceration for decades, and the Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act would do the opposite: incentivize states to reduce both incarceration and crime,” said Lauren-Brooke Eisen, senior director of the Justice Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU Law. “This bill is a must in 2023, when mass incarceration is still devastating the lives of so many Americans, particularly Black and Latino people.” 

“The United States is the world’s number-one incarcerator. For decades, we have needlessly subjected millions of people to overcrowded, violent, and inhumane prisons and jails, then released them with little or no support. The Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act can start to chip away at these excesses of mass incarceration while enhancing public safety,” said Hernandez Stroud, counsel in the Justice Program at the Brennan Center. “Congress should pass it without delay.”

“The United States is responsible for some of the harshest prison sentences in the world, which has contributed to the scourge of mass incarceration and racial injustice,” said Kara Gotsch, Deputy Director, The Sentencing Project.  “This legislation helps states promote proportionality, fairness, and justice in pursuing public safety.”

“We cannot incarcerate our way out of the problems we face in our communities, as we’ve seen the racially disproportionate impact mass incarceration has had on our country,” said Jesselyn McCurdy, Executive Vice President of Government Affairs, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. “The federal government has a unique role to play in helping states decarcerate, and Congress should act swiftly to pass this bill.”

“Our current system of reentry consistently fails to meaningfully support our community members returning home from incarceration,” said Michael Mendoza, Director of Advocacy, Anti-Recidivism Coalition. “By incentivizing states to invest significant resources in evidence-based anti-recidivism strategies, this bill can help transform our system into one that does not respond to deep-rooted community challenges with harmful and ineffective over-incarceration, a vision we at the Anti-Recidivism Coalition advocate for every day.”

“The Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act is a sensible solution that both Republicans and Democrats can support,” said Jason Pye, Director of Rule of Law Initiatives of the Due Process Institute. “This bill would help preserve law enforcement tools that protect public safety, stop the revolving prison door, and give real second chances to people who have been unnecessarily incarcerated and shut out from society. Congress should pass it now.”

“The lessons from our past criminal justice practices urge us to implement new policies that meet the needs of the twenty-first century and help us reach our goals for safer communities,” said Ronald Serpas, Former Police Superintendent of New Orleans, and Executive Director, Law Enforcement Leaders to Reduce Crime & Incarceration. “The Smart Sentencing Adjustments Act can accomplish that by reducing unnecessary incarceration and taking steps to improve public safety. As we work tirelessly to reduce crime, especially violent crime, we must focus our attention on aligning incarceration practices with science and evidence-based solutions.”

The full text of the bill can be found here.