Sen. Webb Calls for Big Changes in Criminal Justice

by Matt Kelley · 2009-03-26 16:18:00 UTC
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Is it possible that we are finally on the verge of real reform in our criminal justice system? Could we look at a graph of the American prison population 20 years from today and see a peak right around 2009?

If I'm right and the combination of the stuggling economy, the new President and three decades of failed prison policies have finally brought about the chance for real change, then today could be a day to remember. A few hours ago, Sen. Jim Webb announced the National Criminal Justice Act of 2009, which would create a blue-ribbon commission to "look at every aspect of our criminal justice system with an eye toward reshaping the process from top to bottom." I know commissions sometimes just add to the D.C. babble, but those words are nice to hear from a U.S. Senator.

Webb, who has been outspoken for years on the failures of the criminal justice system, explains his politically risky - and badly needed - move in the cover story of this Sunday's Parade Magazine and on a new website launched by his staff to support the NCJA effort. He has an impressive coalition of Democratic support for the coalition including, reportedly, the President of the United States and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Calling our prison system a "national disgrace," Webb says "we are wasting billions of dollars and diminishing million of lives." Amen.

This is the moment to make sweeping reforms in our drug laws and prison policies a reality. Webb is aware of the breadth of this problem and he aims to inform the country and its leaders. Let's get behind Webb's efforts and show our representatives that Webb isn't making a movement, he's simply bringing it into focus.

Email your Senators and Representatives today to let them know you support the NCJA and criminal justice reform in this country.

Matt Kelley is the Online Communications Manager at the Innocence Project and a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University. Follow him on Twitter @mattjkelley.
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