ICYMI: CLEAN SLATE EXPANSION PICKING UP MOMENTUM IN PENNSYLVANIA CAPITOL, RECEIVES UNANIMOUS VOTE IN COMMITTEE
A bipartisan effort to expand Pennsylvania’s 2018 Clean Slate law gathered further momentum today with unanimous passage out of the house judiciary committee.
The vote comes after a coalition of criminal justice advocates, national policy experts, and state lawmakers held a press conference in the state capitol last week.
FIX TO STATE PROBATION SYSTEM EARNS UNANIMOUS SUPPORT
Sponsored by Representative Brian Hill (R-Mustang), HB 2490 allows Oklahomans who have served five years of their suspended sentence or suspended portion of their split sentences in their communities to petition a judge for a sentence modification if they have completed the terms and conditions of their probation—including maintaining or actively seeking employment and completing rehabilitative programming—and they have no pending violations or revocation hearings.
NEW POLL: PENNSYLVANIA VOTERS OVERWHELMINGLY SUPPORT EXPANDING CLEAN SLATE; BELIEVE JUSTICE SYSTEM NEEDS IMPROVEMENT
As a divided Pennsylvania legislature considers additional criminal justice reforms this session, the Justice Action Network released a poll showing that Pennsylvanians overwhelmingly support expanding the state’s 2018 Clean Slate law and believe the justice system needs improvement.
TUESDAY: NATIONAL EXPERTS HOST DISCUSSION ON REHABILITATIVE WORKFORCE POLICIES, PUBLIC SAFETY, MINNESOTA’S ECONOMY
The event, which is taking place during Second Chance Month, will address both the economic and public safety implications of Minnesota’s current probation, parole, expungement, and other re-entry policies, including best practices and evidence-based recommendations, some of which are currently under consideration by the legislature.
ARIZONA LEGISLATURE PASSES BIPARTISAN RESTORATIVE WORKFORCE ID BILL TO REDUCE BARRIERS TO EMPLOYMENT AND LESSEN THE WORKER SHORTAGE
Today, Senate Bill 1290 passed the Arizona House by a margin of 57-0, representing a major step forward for reducing barriers to employment for those exiting prisons and making it easier for employers to hire qualified workers in the state of Arizona.
POLL: MAJORITY OF LOUISIANA VOTERS SUPPORT EVIDENCE-BASED CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORMS
A newly-released poll shows that Louisiana voters—including majorities from all party affiliations as well as voters from victim and law enforcement households—support criminal justice solutions that reduce recidivism and emphasize treatment and diversion over more punitive responses like longer sentences.
Pennsylvania Clean Slate Video Wins Two National Awards
A longform video featuring Representative Sheryl Delozier has won two Reed Awards this week. The video was produced by Content Creative Media on behalf of the Justice Action Network (JAN) and elevates Pennsylvania’s leadership on providing second chances to returning citizens through the use of automatic expungement provisions while advocating for an expansion of the state’s existing automatic expungement framework.
BIPARTISAN, BICAMERAL COALITION INCLUDING SENATORS BOOKER (D-NJ) AND GRAHAM (R-SC), LEADER JEFFRIES (D-NY) AND REP. ARMSTRONG (R-ND) RENEW CONGRESSIONAL EFFORT TO FIX COCAINE SENTENCING DISPARITY
EQUAL Act Would Finally Eliminate Crack vs. Powder Cocaine Sentencing Disparity That Disproportionately Impacts Black Communities, is Widely Supported by Law Eenforcement & Civil Rights Leaders
NEWS FROM CONGRESS: CREATION OF SECOND CHANCE TASK FORCE DRAWS PRAISE FROM NATION’S LARGEST BIPARTISAN CRIMINAL JUSTICE GROUP
The task force, which was created to promote policies that will improve access to employment and other opportunities for people who are reentering the community after spending time in prison or the justice system, met for the first time today to learn more about challenges the BOP has faced in maintaining successful reentry programming for the roughly 50,000 people who are released from federal prisons each year.
JUSTICE ACTION NETWORK: VIOLENT KILLING OF TYRE NICHOLS IS APPALLING, POLICYMAKERS MUST ACT
“The Justice Action Network team joins the nation this weekend in grieving the tragic loss of Tyre Nichols to incomprehensible violence at the hands of members of law enforcement in Memphis,” said executive director Jenna Bottler. “The brutality displayed by the officers who beat Tyre is appalling, immoral and inhumane. The men and women who patrol our communities are the frontline workers of America’s justice system, and it is imperative that we are able to trust them and their conduct on our streets.
NEWS: SENATE FAILURE TO INCLUDE EQUAL ACT IN OMNIBUS BILL WILL HAVE TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES
Early this morning, Congressional leaders released text of an agreed end-of-year "omnibus" spending bill to fund the federal government, and the EQUAL Act, one of the final issues on the table for inclusion, failed to make the cut. The Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act of 2021, or EQUAL Act, would have eliminated the 18:1 federal sentencing disparity between drug offenses involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine, a relic of the War on Drugs.
LEADING ILLINOIS CIVIL RIGHTS ORGANIZATIONS CALL ON CHAIRMAN DURBIN TO INCLUDE THE EQUAL ACT IN THE NDAA
Today, leading Illinois civil rights and criminal justice organizations sent a letter to Chairman Durbin (D-IL) urging him to keep the EQUAL Act in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is now being negotiated. As Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a lead sponsor of the EQUAL Act, the Senator is uniquely positioned to advocate for this legislation. The House of Representatives has already included the EQUAL Act in its version of the NDAA.
LEADING NEW YORK CIVIL RIGHTS GROUPS CALL ON LEADER SCHUMER TO PASS THE EQUAL ACT IN THE NDAA
Today, leading New York civil rights and criminal justice organizations sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urging him to keep the EQUAL Act in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which is now being negotiated in the Senate. The House of Representatives has already included the EQUAL Act in its version of the NDAA, passed in July.
“OUR ECONOMY DEPENDS ON IT, OUR JUSTICE SYSTEM DEPENDS ON IT, OUR FUTURE DEPENDS ON IT.”
Yesterday, Democratic and Republican lawmakers joined a virtual event on the importance of second chance legislation pending in Congress—the Clean Slate and Fresh Start Acts. These bills would expand automated record sealing at the federal and state levels, giving individuals who have served their time and remained crime-free better access to employment, education, and housing.
NEW, BIPARTISAN CLEAN SLATE LEGISLATION EXPANDS ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY, PROMOTES PUBLIC SAFETY
Today, Pennsylvania lawmakers from across the political spectrum announced new legislation that would expand Pennsylvania’s Clean Slate laws. House Bill 1826 and Senate Bill 1314 build upon Pennsylvania’s groundbreaking Clean Slate laws, which have given more than 1.2 million Pennsylvanians access to meaningful employment, continuing education, and stable housing.
NEW TASK FORCE UNITES LAW ENFORCEMENT AND JUSTICE SYSTEM FIRST RESPONDERS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY TO URGE CONGRESS TO AID THEIR FIGHT AGAINST COVID-19 IN CORRECTIONS SYSTEM
As debate continues over whether to provide emergency relief to state and local jurisdictions to fight COVID-19, Justice Action Network announced a broad coalition of state and local officials—sheriffs, judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, legislators, and corrections administrators—who are sounding the alarm on the need for federal emergency aid to justice systems across the country.