News Criminal Justice Reform

[dank69]

No thread here yet? Zero fucks given?

https://www.yahoo.com/news/critics-criminal-justice-bill-final-push-changes-170830868--politics.html

I haven't been following this closely other than headlines but on the surface at least it looks like progress and assuming Trump signs it it will be something he has done that doesn't make me want to punch kittens in the face. Only complaint I suppose is that it doesn't go far enough, especially regarding the war on drugs, but that is really a whole other animal that needs to be addressed elsewhere.

Anyway, is this a good thing or a nothingburger? Does Trump deserve any credit for this other than for not vetoing it? I know he mentioned it during the dumpster fire meeting with Chuck & Nancy, but did he actually have any influence in this?

 

[akenbennu]

Kushner's reportedly been the big driver behind this and we know Trump actually listens to him, so good chance this will move through.

 

[interchange]

Best news of the year. Thank you President Trump for your role in this. I hope to see much more reform in the future.

 

[interchange]

Double post

 

[K1052]

Its a realtively modest package of reforms considering the scale of the issues we have in our criminal justice system. Congress, especially people the Senate on both sides, had been wanting to do something like it for years. It became Kushner's pet project given his experience with his father and the likely dawning on a rich white family of how terrible the system and prisons are in general.

Incarceration in the US exploded with the start of the drug war and various crime bills that imposed huge mandatory sentences. This will help a bit with the latter but FAR more reform is required.

 

[SMOGZINN]

So, we are now all agreeing that all the 'tough on crime' bullshit was a terrible idea and the proper approach is a more nuanced one?

Criminals are often returned to society because of forgiving judges. This has to stop. We need to hold judges more accountable, and the best way to make that happen is to elect them. Whey they hurt us, we need to make sure we can vote them out of the job. The rest of us need to rethink prisons and punishment. The next time you hear someone saying there are too many people in prison, ask them how many thugs they’re willing to relocate to their neighborhood. The answer: None.

Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p.106-7 , Jul 2, 2000

For tough anti-crime policies; not criminals’ rights We can have safe streets. But unless we stand up for tough anticrime policies, they will be replaced by policies that emphasize criminals’ rights over those of ordinary citizens.
Soft criminal sentences are based on the proposition that criminals are the victims of society. A lot of people in high places really do believe that criminals are victims. The only victim of a violent crime is the person getting shot, stabbed, or raped. The perpetrator is never a victim. He’s nothing more than a predator.

Source: The America We Deserve, by Donald Trump, p. 93-94 , Jul 2, 2000

 

[IronWing]

Shh, Trump probably hasn't read that book. Don't poke him when he isn't being an ass.

 

[fskimospy]

Yes, this isn't nearly the level of reform we need but it's an unequivocally positive step and I'll be very happy to see it enacted. If Trump signs it as it appears he will this will indeed be one of the first things that I can say I'm genuinely pleased he has accomplished. Good job!

 

[SMOGZINN]

Shh, Trump probably hasn't read that book. Don't poke him when he isn't being an ass.

I still think it is a good idea to point out how time and again they are wrong about just about everything, and eventually are forced to concede it, in the vain hope that some of their followers will realize it and stop listening to them.

 

[interchange]

So, we are now all agreeing that all the 'tough on crime' bullshit was a terrible idea and the proper approach is a more nuanced one?

It's not bullshit. It serves a very important function. We all need some way to cope with the vulnerability we face on a constant basis. Physical vulnerability as potential victims. But also identity vulnerability as risking exposure to the limitations of our view of reality. And identity vulnerability with our fears of being able to regulate our own behavior. Tough on crime is one compromise. I don't think it's the "worst", if such a thing is measurable.

But it is definitely not the most effective for reducing crime.