This will make life in prison easier for Mr. Trump, should he finally be convicted for a federal crime.
Seriously, this is a good first step, but it only affects about 4000 prisoners, a drop in the bucket. Much more needs to be done.
1
Trump acquiesced since this didn't cost him anything with his base.
1
'These histories suggest that, ironically, mass incarceration might end sooner if more white-collar criminals were locked up.'
Apparently, Eric Holder was more interested in arming Mexican drug cartels and lying to Congress about it than he was about white-collar crime. Isn't lying to Congress a crime? Or at least a sin?
Be very wary of any appropriations linked to this bill. As with the seeming generosity of the recent veterans' assistance legislation, much of it may well be a windfall for two groups: various corporations selling dubious algorithms and electronic records systems, and Pence's allies in the Christian "non-profit" services sector.
1
Call me a cynic or just worldly wise, but hard for me to Trump (or those in his inner circle) acting on purely altruistic or empathic motives. Let’s not forget that Jared only became interested in prisons reform after his morally repugnant father had to spent time behind bars . Could Trump’s sudden reformist bent have anything to do with the possibility his own future indictment or that of his children? And finally getting a double digits of African American votes to counterbalance his loss of female suburban votes. I just don’t buy that he’s capable of doing anything without a selfish or cagey angle. That said, I’m thrilled it’s happening. .
1
Donald doesn't do good. So if it looks like it's in the bag, it may not be. This man can change what passes as a mind in a split second, especially if a right wing radio host or Fox tells him not to do it. I don't trust even after verifying with Trump at our helm.
The president only supports things which make him look good. You can be assured no thought for public welfare went into his decision to sign this bill.
1
Ironic. A NYT article praising Trump is the real man-bites-dog story. If mass incarceration was frequently defended by Trump or his supporters, then this development would be a turn-around. Michelle Goldberg writing in support of Trump, now that's a 180.
I've commented that, pertaining in this case to Trump, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
Very interesting to learn that a jail reform is taking place on account of some influential persons getting jailed. If so more such persons indeed need to be jailed to improve upon the conditions prevailing in jails. Whatever it may be, it still is a good gesture on the part of the President.
Two more positives have been initiated by this government, which surely need appreciation. Complete military withdrawal in Syria and reducing the forces by 50 % in Afghanistan are great steps indeed.
Imminent government shutdown is truely a huge failure on the part of this government. Hope something positive will take place to avoid it.
"Even a stopped clock is right twice a day."
I heard that several years ago and thought it was unusually clever and insightful.
Now, I think about it often. What if Trump does something right near the 2020 election? This country--and the world--will be lucky to survive four years of him, but I absolutely dread the thought of eight years.
This effort at prison reform certainly should be applauded. But it must be understood that this is nothing more than a cosmetic change which does not address the core problem, which is the mentality of those who are put in charge of the prisoners.
The only objective of corrections officers is to strip the inmates of their dignity. In the CO's mind this is perceived to be the most effective way to control people they view as less than human. In the prison system there is a saying, "the only difference between the guards and the prisoners is the color of their uniforms." That is true far too often.
If you really want to insure that thousands of people who might have a chance to make a contribution to society don't go to waste, then the mentality of the guards must change. If you think the blue wall of the police department is hard to climb over, try affecting the attitude of the average corrections officer.
1
Even as Chester Arthur could sign the bill recognizing the International Red Cross, so can something good come of this administration. Kind of.
Democrats had, essentially, this same bill ready to go for years, while Obama was president. McConnell sat on it. It never saw the light of day. NOW -- bammo -- passed and signed. Big win for Trump. McConnell made good on his promise to suppress everything Obama for eight years. But now, he pulls out the bill, lets Kushner usher it around, and hurries it right onto the floor for a vote. Democrats, putting nation before party, support the bill. Naturally, Trump is braying about the great accomplishment that only he could do, and that Obama couldn't. Okay. Playing along was the right thing for Democrats to do, I guess. Sigh.
7
Not sure what the article is about but this photo looks like Trump doing an impersonation of Alec Baldwin doing an impersonation of Trump.
1
Locking up Kushner’s dad could turn out to be a good thing for minorities over-sentenced for non violent crimes. So it follows that locking up even MORE white collar white criminals could speed up reform and have exponential benefits for those who suffer the injustices of the US justice system.
With all the firings, retirements, and jumping ship going on over at the Trump Administration, anyone left holding the bag has a lot of explaining to do and could use a little time off too.
2
So all it takes to make a conservative an advocate for prison reform is time in prison. Wow, imagine that! Now if we could only impregnate them all, I bet they'd come out in favor of abortions too.
4
What total rot! Why not free the lot of them and give each one an all-expenses-paid Club Med vacation? The crocodile ters that flow are disgusting but it unfortunately appears we are now entering another period where it will be treandy to be soft on crime: sympathize with the law-breaker and ignore the victims. And you call that progress?
1
It’s amazing what can happen when we shed the labels and become just people.
7
@Larry Thompson
Totally agree.
But as another post averred, it could have happened 8 years ago if the Republicans would have shed their label and stopped being so anti-Obama.
Here's the sad truth. If it had passed 8 years ago, Republicans right now would be repealing it.
9
@Larry Thompson But as priceofcivilization implied in commenting, "just people" would be relied upon for consistency. Thereby, it would depend on whether or not any of those people show ample behavioral features of a dangerous, serious mental (behavioral) disorder. Hmm...I wonder how consistent Trump has been?
1
Trump has done something good here with criminal justice reform.
Also did good not listening to his generals and the Republicans on Syria and Afghanistan.
Makes no sense.
9
I'm curious if the popularity of TV shows like "Orange is the New Black" can also partly explain the bipartisan interest in criminal justice reform.
4
President Donald Trump is doing something good while trying hard to do a lot of good under fierce close minded opposition and press. What he has demonstrated is that he is not in the pockets of conservatives or liberals but doing to do what is best for America, the country that has elected him. Not selfish allies in Europe or elsewhere. As an independent, I think that the president is independent an not in the pockets of Limbaugh or Coulter on the right or Schumer and Pelosi on the left or Putin or Xhi or MBS.
4
" Perhaps there’s a genuine silver lining to the deep corruption of the Republican Party. Modern conservatism can no longer ignore the interests of people accused of committing crimes."
There is no plus to deep corruption ever. What these examples highlight is the complete lack of empathy among conservatives. They only get behind a cause if it directly affects them. How many other serious issues are conservatives on the wrong side of because they believe they will not be affected? Way too many.
1
Trump's support for sentencing reform may prove that he has a heart after all.
Count me a cynic on this "reform". More than forty years ago, rehabilitation was the (then current) rage in the criminal justice system. Many criminals were diverted from the prison system through things like pre-trial intervention and probation. Diverting people from prison worked.
Rehabilitation worked because, at its most elemental level, crime is a young person's game. After the age of about twenty-five, the incidence of crime tends to drop because criminals either a) integrate with society (e.g. a job, and education/career), they get warehoused long term because they are habitual criminals, or they die.
But that was not good enough for the law and order/hard right types (with a dog whistle thrown in there, to be sure). They wanted to eschew the rehabilitation, and just lock 'em up. Getting tough on crime was good politics. And prison populations skyrocketed - along with the costs.
So now they get religion on reforming sentencing? Why? Not because they want better public policy, but because they do not want to pay for the bed space.
The hard right does not see people as human resources to be maximized; they see liabilities to be minimized - like the bed space. That is their world view, and it is no way to implement public policy.
The simple fact is that crime has declined, not because getting tough worked, but because crime is (for the most part) a young person's game, and people just got older. Let's hope that this reform begins to bring back rehabilitation.
Too bad that doesn’t work nearly as well for medical care, gun control, immigration, abortion, global warming, pollution.
So, we need more ultra conservatives with pre-existing conditions, shot, discover their relatives came from South America, need an abortion, summer home destroyed by a hurricane and end up in the hospital due to lead in the water.
2
NYT. Can you research this bill to determine the extent, if any, that it is driven by a concern for white opioid users vs black drug users?
2
Yes, I'm one of the 50%. When visiting him at the federal penitentiary I was shocked at the deep callousness the guards had to those of us who were innocent. It was painful and nerve racking to go through their security and watching women ripping off metal buttons, rushing to a store to buy a bra without metal and men could not wear khaki pants. and, no food presents, no presents at all.
He spent 6 years scared to death as he was "in" for looking at kiddie porn on his computer. The inmates called them chomos and regularly dispensed their own punishments.
Life will never be the same but he is free at last. And the rest of his life will be printed on the sexual predator list.
Michelle Goldberg makes a convincing case for sending more Trump and Giuliani cronies to prison, especially State prison.
I would caution, though, that it is never appropriate to comment on Donny's intentions, but only on his actions. In the case at hand, he could still pocket veto the bill, attach some kind of odious signing statement, or issue some contrary executive order. His actions are as unpredictable as they are [typically] malignant.
2
This pattern is one that's similar to arch conservatives being against LGBT rights until such a person pops up in their own family. Yes, it is a human trait that we aren't empathetic enough until we've "walked a mile in their shoes", but wouldn't it be nice if our lawmakers were a bit more wise than so many seem to be, especially the ideologues who specialize in empathy avoidance.
Now if only we can get people to somehow experience how ugly it will be in a couple decades with climate chaos happening, fueled by continued over-population - and the world dealing with maybe 140 million climate migrants, as has been predicted.....so we can take the necessary steps now to avoid the unnecessary suffering. The journalist James Burke did a brilliant job in a mock news report from about 2020, produced in the 1990s, looking back on the lack of action of today's short-sighted people, thorouoghly vilified by people just a few decades later.
There is a difference between the "white collar" prisons and the regular prisons. If Michael Cohen went to the regular prison instead of the one he is going to, he would come out and try to change the justice system.
I do hope corrupt Trump goes to prison even if it is the White Collar one, but I doubt if he will ever serve jail time. It would be worth it though, if he was told he was a LOSER.
1
Typical. Conservatives have no imagination and little empathy. If injustice happens to others, it's because those others had no discipline and needed to take personal responsibility for their actions. Only when the conservative personally experiences injustice can they comprehend it. I've never been to jail, but I've always been for prison and sentencing reform. Because I can imagine the suffering of others and I don't like it, and can imagine injustice befalling on myself and wanting a system that protects me from it.
3
@RGT
Quite right. I use the analogy often (sorry about that) - that if you were walking down the street and came across someone in dire need (medical help or otherwise), almost all of us would stop to lend a hand. (at least call 911 , which is usually legally obligated)
Having said that, there are billions that are in dire need, but it is happening in slow motion, and because of that, we justify and rationalize as we walk on by.
Wrong on so many levels ...
2
I smell a fish!
Very nice to know so many Trump fans read the New York Times though - hopefully many of them will change parties or at least change their vote before the next election.
I will never understand why Americans vote party rather than Person. Over the years I have voted for all 3 Canadian parties depending on who I respect most - for my provincial representative and/or my Prime Minister.
All of us who spent years, even decades, as court appointed counsel for indigent clients charged with drug related offenses see this as long overdue. However, it is vital to remember that in enacting criminal justice reform race is still driving how the government addresses drug related problems.
Up until the last decade drug abuse among the working class and working poor was viewed as a problem of black and Hispanic Americans, and so it was addressed through incarceration. Twenty years ago when I first began practicing law over 80 percent of the people I represented needed to be placed in a program. They were sick, and while drug treatment programs certainly didn't guarantee that every person would recover, putting these people in prison guaranteed they'd never have a chance to recover. Thousands of my clients who posed no real threat to society remained incarcerated long after violent felons were released.
This reform comes too late for them. It is happening because we have the same problem we always had, except now it is called an "Opioid Crisis." Republicans stopped pretending a health crisis was best solved by putting everyone who is sick in jail as soon as they realized that a huge number of those affected were white and working class; in other words, members of Trump's base. See this for what it is, naked self-interest specifically meant to deal with a problem working-class whites are facing. It just happens to have a positive impact on those who are not white.
168
@Robert B -- "It just happens to have a positive impact on those who are not white."
As with all things Republican, one must expect a little (or a LOTTA) collateral damage. Sometimes (rarely), it's even a good thing!
5
@Robert B Please keep in mind that this only affects those in federal prison. Most drug crimes are prosecuted in state courts.
2
I'm typically very pleased with the opinions of Ms Goldberg, my favorite NYT writer at the moment. However this column does not speak truth: As a formerly incarcerated person I often interact with those working tirelessly on prison reform, mainly Black women, and their countless hours of lobbying, writing, posting videos and voting is what made sure something got done. Trump, the GOP and others have simply responded to the crisis by chipping off some of the harshest elements of mass incarceration, like the slavery hangover of shacking pregnant women during birth. This is of course to be applauded, yet I'm applauding the hundreds, if not thousands, of activists who've worked to make this happen.
215
Well said. There are people who have been fighting this fight for a very long time, bruising their hearts and breaking their backs along the way. I have no clue how we somehow got the Kochs and Kushners of this world on board - I’m glad, I guess, but let’s not give those rotten so-and-sos the credit due to others.
28
@Tony Cochran
At least President Trump and the GOP responded. Where was this legislation the eight years before we had President Trump?
1
@Tony Cochran*** you know you are right. I was thinking about all the Black & Brown activists they have been trying to get some sense to the justice system for years. It's only when well off white men started feeling it first hand that something finally gets done. And even then it was tough ... But it is happening, and I wouldn't be to rough on Ms Goldberg. She is the best.
13
There may be an element of self-interest in whatever future jailbirds like Jared Kushner or Donald Trump do to make prisons better.
3
It’s a topsy turvy world where 45 is king...
Lock him up! Lock him up!
1
Makes you wonder why the Dems didn’t do anything when they had the chance.
Must have hurt like hell for Ms Goldberg to pen that article.
That’s and added bonus for me.
1
@Norville T. Johnson I
What chance?
The GOP had a majority in Congress for most of Obama's two terms.
Why didn't they do something?
4
@Jerry Engelbach He had control on congress for the first two years of his first term.
1
Could the Media be pro-fit -tizing on the Fear Factor a little too heavy ?
Don the Con just wants to ensure his future fellow inmates think he's a nice guy- also, Putin doesn't care one way or the other so he didn't give a thumbs down on this.
DT never does anything decent unless it benefits him.
3
"Donald Trump Is Doing Something … Good?"
Should read, "Congress is Doing Something.. Good?'
Trump is incapable of anything good, he'll sign it, maybe, only because Congress agreed to it, and it doesn't cost him anything.
His devious little mind will be scheming, like, oh we're going to save billions of dollars letting these wretches out early, so we'll use the money to fund the "wall". That's how his teeny tiny mind works.
4
Thanks for this analysis, Michelle Goldberg and NYTimes.
Trump is best POTUS of our lifetime. winning!
"Donald Trump Is Doing Something … Good?"
No. If you look at today's headline, Trump is pulling troops out of Syria and withdrawing some from Afghanistan. You'll no doubt be angry about this.
@Jp,
Is withdrawing some from Afghanistan really a bad thing? Way overdue. Totally should have been done a long time ago.
2
@Jon: I was being sarcastic. If Trump does something, the NYT swings into action against it. Hence the handwringing in many columns today saying we must honor "our commitment to the Kurds" and continue supporting the fight against Assad.
The former does have some merit. The latter isn't even legal.
1
A broken clock is correct twice a day
7
As the old saw goes “Conservatives are Liberals who’ve been mugged and Liberals are Conservatives who’ve been arrested”!
2
@Appiah P B
The "old saw" is a silly lie.
Conservatives may adopt some self-serving liberal ideas when it profits them.
Liberals have always favored prison reform, including those who have been victimized by crime.
1
Hey it's Christmas .. and he got two things right this week. Justice Reform & Syria ... See minor miracles do happen.
1
We have corruption everywhere, Michelle, even in the Democratic party, as hard to believe that is.
How about selling monthly bennies tor those who could but don't work in exchange for their votes.
Decency and self-respect matter, too....just like crime and punishment and redemption.
1
Sorry, when my country is under attack I don’t want to read this stuff.
1
Boy is this the wrong day for the headline to this piece...
4
Thank you, President Trump.
By creating a positive economic environment and now this criminal justice legislation you have done more for minorities in our country than any president since LBJ.
May they one day also thank you.
---- 9:53 Friday
2
So Kushner got behind this because the law got his daddy?
4
@K. Norris
It's of a piece with other examples that seem to come particularly from the Republican side of the aisle. They just don't get it, until whatever "it" is affects them personally.
Is this new law going to release large numbers of Skinheads and Neo-Nazis? Would explain Trumpian / Republican support. Better take a closer look people, Jared's pushing this? Any friends or relatives or associates going to get out?
3
Criminal justice reform seems only to get momentum when the political class (such as Jared Kushner) have some personal experience with the justice system (Charles Kushner in the slammer). I wish that the political class could develop a sense of empathy. Confronting a problem only because it affects you and yours is the height of short-sightedness.
4
It's weird to me when people think Trump does something with some plan or goal in mind. He acts on a whim. In this case, I bet his advisors just told him it would be pointless not to sign since it'd get vetoed. I don't think he knows what the bill does or even what the different sectors of the electorate think about it. I bet he signed it, Tweeted something ridiculous, and forgot all about it.
3
Yes, this prison reform is to be applauded. Anything that makes things fairer in our prison system is to be cheered.
But no I can not deny that Trump is venal enough to want a shorter sentence when he is sentenced. Everything for Trump is about himself. That Trump's selfishness may actually help someone else is indeed ironic.
4
Could there be a more blatant demonstration of the overwhelming power of the monied interests in our country than this? Poor people have been crying out against the abuses of a justice system built on the cruel and punitive enthusiasms of the well-to-do for decades, centuries really, and now a few of those high and mighty suddenly get a taste of the system they've been blythely championing all these years and BAM!, justice reform.
4
Of course Trump and his GOP cronies are behind criminal justice reform. They're going to need it after they're convicted.
5
Trump is wisely supporting this in anticipation of Mueller's findings.
5
I’m sorry. What gives you the right to like what Trump did? It is the job of media to minimize or ignore anything Trump does that is good.
1
May Donald Trump and his family personally benefit from the First Step Act.
3
Wait a second... this is one of those funny "news" stories The Onion puts out, right? It has to be... Jared Kushner? Bi-partisan agreement? Donald Trump signing it? And it's something really good?
As my whip cracking mother used to say whenever she'd give me a nice little treat... don't get used to it.
1
Not so fast.
We could be "surprised" again.
See it then believe it.
It would be great news.....long overdue.
I, too, don't "believe that Trump wants to ease federal prison conditions because he and his children might be indicted". What I do know is that every criminal I've ever known has been in favor of lighter sentences. Go figure, right? Trump has been a criminal for his whole adult life. How many frauds, swindles, lies, contract breaches, etc. has he conducted over the past fifty years? My guess is that Trump, though he doesn't admit it, knows he's committed crimes over the years, but he doesn't know--he doesn't realize--he's a criminal.
What drives him to support this legislation is a criminal empathy he has for those behind bars. Should I be right, it would constitute the only form of empathy he possesses.
2
Trump is pivoting to privatize prisons and change them from locking up US citizens to immigrants.
2
I would take all of this with a pound of salt.
Trump is as fickle as he is dishonest. He will do what suits him and his political health. That it may be just or morally correct is incidental.
3
you mean the conservatives
know perfectly well how corrupt they are?
consequently they want to make it less onerous to commit crimes?
in all their righteous sincerity?
I am still glad the law passed! The closest I got to being incarcerated was a one year stint as social worker in an institution for juvenile delinquents.
1
There is only one good thing Mr. Trump can do and that is to go away.
3
RE: "Donald Trump Is Doing Something … Good?"
Yes, even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
3
Don was kind enough, weak enough, to sign this to placate Sonny Boy Jared. And the bill got bipartisan Congressional approval. THAT is what matters.
Given what’s happened since this one tiny moment, this piece is immaterial. Just take it down already.
1
The bill is a first step.
It wasn’t Trumps idea, and I dont think it’s helpful to parse this president’s fragmented outcomes and evaluate their value as if distinct from his larger pattern of incoherence.
2
I am cynical enough to believe that the president is likely just trying to look out for his own, but a rising tide lifts all boats so this sounds like a solid win anyway, as strange as it feels I must give credit where credit is due. thank you.
1
"But many of the people who’ve tried to move the Republican Party toward criminal justice reform have seen prison, or at least criminal prosecution, firsthand."
Michelle may be onto something: The Clintons' expansion of mass incarceration happened because the Clintons, victims of their own corrupt deep-state machine, were denied their well-earned. horizon-widening stints in the slammer.
Fret not. Help is on the way.
Bill Barr, AG-to-be, said he saw "more basis for investigating the Clinton-Russia Uranium1 deal than any *supposed* conspiracy between Trump associates & Russia," adding,"the Department is abdicating its responsibility.”
When deconstructing reflexive black support for the Clintons, Randall Robinson implored: "For God in heaven, what for?" (C-SPAN video, 9/13/07)
Michelle Alexander put it this way, "There is such a thing as a lesser evil & Hillary is not it"
Some black intellectuals argue that blacks were against the Clinton crime bill & blame its passage on "selective hearing" of whites. "Selective hearing" sure sounds like "black lives do not matter."
How else can one possibly explain Rwanda?
"Be Careful…Genocide finding could commit USG to do something"
nsarchive.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB53/
The Clinton role in Rwandan genocide, Haitian refugee repatriation to certain death, Ricky Ray Rector execution, expansion of mass incarceration, should have long ago disabused all blacks—& all whites—of Clinton nostalgia.
3
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article125500294.html
“That means that progressives and reform-minded moderates are going to need to bring forward much bolder proposals,” she said.
They did, as far back as 2010.
4
I agree with almost all of the bill, and am glad to see Congress actually doing some legislating. However, the retroactive change to the coke/crack law is somewhat unsettling. How is this not an Ex Post Facto law, specifically prohibited by the Constitution?
1
@mikecody
The Constitution does not specifically define ex post facto law.
Courts have often held that freeing those previously convicted or lessening their punishment does not violate the spirit of the provision, whose intent was to prevent punishment for acts that were not crimes before new law was passed.
@Jerry Engelbach Article 1 Section 9 of the Constitution; "No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed."
An ex post facto law is a law that retroactively changes the legal consequences of actions that were committed, or relationships that existed, before the enactment of the law. Therefore, the clause does apply to a law of this type. An individual, case by case approach, not being a law, does not trigger this clause.
Is anyone going to point out that the motivation is the same as someone renovating their home before moving in?
7
The Con Don does not "deserve" praise from any corner. He is a common crook.
6
@njglea
As always with you, whatever President Trump does is always bad, no matter how good it is. Your mind is closed. Sad.
@Jimbo
Trump's previous own words and actions are more than sufficient to arouse skepticism about everything he says and does.
1
This law is a step forward but it only impacts federal prisons. Most people are imprisoned at the state level. Are Republican governors following suit or does the private prison industry have more sway.
2
An emotional article that just only touches on the immense difficulties most people in this world face.
However, it is a bit naive, if not illogical, to assign ‘guilt’ to fortunate birth circumstances in attempts to educate people on the moral and humanitarian tragedy that is immigration today. I’d like to agree that the whole issue is as simple as no borders, but it cannot be— it’s about oppressive governments, poverty, and overpopulation and more.
Attaching what is ‘just’ to the randomness of someone’s birth is devoid of relevance and doesn’t advance the great work that civil rights lawyers and activist do in this world. Socrates figured that out 2500 years ago.
2
Yes, it is hard to believe, but Mr. Trump is doing "something good"! What has motivated him to do that may not be as pure or unselfish as one hopes, but that is not important. The fact remains that the First Step Act is a step in the right direction. So, let's give him some of the credit and encourage him to do some more good.
6
I do detect an undercurrent of cynicism in Ms. Goldberg's column, and, in my opinion, rightly so; I also suspect that a lot of the conservative/Republican/Libertarian support for this comes from some of those more oligarchic members having had their own brushes with criminal justice. And perhaps, as Michelle says, if even more of said people had such brushes we'd get reform even faster.
I'm certainly open to the idea that much of this rightist support is coming from those who suspect they might wind up in court some day (they know, on some level, that a lot of what they're doing to augment their coffers is prosecutable).
I also wonder if some of the support comes not only from the libertarian idea that somewhat questionable behavior should in fact be allowable, and not prosecuted or penalized--from the flouting of industry regulations to the laundering of ill-gotten profit. AND I wonder if some of those entrepreneurial types are hoping to make a buck off alternative to incarceration, such as electronic monitoring devices or alternative work or restitution programs.
Some may say that I'm really being cynical here, to which I respond no matter how cynical one is, it never seems to be enough to keep up.
11
It's good to see this legislation being passed. Apparently, the First Step Act will include some emphasis on preparation of inmates for their release via education and job training. This was an important aspect of the Law Enforcement Administration's programs in federal AND state prisons until the mid-1970's--but conservatives eliminated the funding for inmate rehabilitation, and focused only on punishment. I observed this in 1974, while teaching art in a medium security prison. Every year, inmates sent artworks to a statewide corrections art show. Exhibiting had a tremendously positive affect on participants' morale, and possibly their ability to withstand the stresses of life in a prison that averaged at least one inmate violent injury or death per year. In 1974, though, a conservative lawmaker blocked funding for the exhibition, claiming that inmates were in penitentiaries to do penance, not show off paintings. It's good to see that some conservatives, finally able to show sense of empathy with the imprisoned, are coming around. How many lives have been ruined, though, before they learned this simple lesson: treat people justly and fairly, and there's a good chance that they'll become just and fair people themselves?
3
To those expressing doubts about whether or not trump will actually sign this bill: it will be passing both houses of Congress with bipartisan veto-proof majorities, so it doesn't matter if he vetoes it. Please re-read (or read) your civics books about how our government works.
Also, be aware that trump will inevitably take credit for this and crow about 'his' big achievement. Other than 'tagging' his spiky scrawled signature to it with a large size Sharpie, he will have had 0% to do with the crafting of the bill and the bipartisan compromises that went into it. He will undoubtedly not even bother reading or merely thumbing through the bill.
4
This should have happened eight years ago.
3
From the article: "These histories suggest that, ironically, mass incarceration might end sooner if more white-collar criminals were locked up." And, as Gloria Steinem drolly observed decades ago, "If men could become pregnant, abortion would be a sacrament." No freaking irony here at all, as best as I can see. Rather, it's the oldest of stories: If it happens to you, it's a comedy; if it happens to me, it's a tragedy. I love my countrymen, such enlightened, moral visionaries.
12
Bravo Ms. Goldberg.
This is the first time, I believe since Trnump became POTUS, that I have read in the NYT a "positive" accomplishment of Trump. And on the Front Page. You are to be genuinely complimented. Maybe it will spread to you colleagues on the Editorial Staff?
I hesitate to press my luck, but one small additional request, respectfully: Look at other positive things POTUS has done and write about those. Let's start with just one more. In previous posts I have listed 15. My selection would be That we have only experienced one terrorist attack since Jan. 2017. Europe, even Russia, has unfortunately had many more. The WSJ yesterday indicated that ISIS is now focusing on Europe rather than the US.
Even China has not been immune as you described several weeks ago in a OpEd. The Uighars in Wetern China have seen several. But let me conclude by again thanking you.
4
Amazingly, even when Trump does something “right” it’s generally for the wrong reason or because he knows/cares so little about it that he takes the word of people around him (like Jarrod) and goes of to play golf leaving details to others.
Plus, as others have suggested, this Bill has veto-proof majorities, so he couldn’t kill it even if he were so inclined (or so they’ve told him. I’m sure he would have no idea on his own of “How a Bill becomes a Law”).
Neither the lack of terrorist attack nor the formerly continued economic “good times” (which are fast coming to an end because of Trump) owe anything to the Cheeto Benito (kudos).
I presume the fact that the sun rises in the east each morning is due to Trump aka Individual 1, also...
@Frank Leibold
Sorry, this is the only good thing he has done (assuming he really does sign it).
As for no terrorist attacks in the US, that’s only because we label politically motivated violent crimes designed to terrorize some group of people “terrorist attacks” only when they’re committed by brown-skinned people. We’ve seen more than a few recent events that meet the legal definition of terrorism, but the white perpetrators are not labeled “terrorists”.
@Frank Leibold Actually, we've had several terrorist attacks since Trump became President. It's just that if a far-right white extremist commits an act of terrorism, some people don't see it as such. But terrorism is defined, loosely, as violence against civilians for the advancement of a political aim. Charlottesville, Pittsburgh, the shooting of Donald Smart, the pipe bombs sent to George Soros et al, and any other number of shootings, show that terrorism is alive and well.
I'm happy for our small victories, even if it takes republicans to help us get there (after all, even broken clocks tell the right time twice a day). Now, we need to get states to abolish cash bail systems - a huge reason many poor people are stuck in jail unnecessarily.
5
Isn’t it ironic that the ones, the Trumps and the Kushners, who will need protection when they go to prison are the ones pushing for criminal justice reform?
5
Could future prison sentences for Trump's family and maybe him....have some influence on this decision?
3
Thank you Michelle for once again highlighting most conservatives utter dearth of empathy for anyone about anything, unless it suddenly becomes something that touches them or their families personally.
Other examples include: AIDs, gay rights / gay marriage, drug addiction, lax gun control laws, automobile safety standards, etc...
7
Charlie Brown, How many times does the GOP has to tee up the football for you before you stop trusting them?
Don’t write anything nice until the nice thing passes the House and Senate and is signed by Trump!
4
@BJ The nice thing has passed the Senate and House. Just waiting for Trump to sign it. Or not to sign it, because it’s likely that Congress would override a veto.
Another example of the conservative/Repub inability to have any imaginative empathy until it happens to them or people they think are "them".
Relatedly, I do not want politicians to "feel (my) pain"--I want them to understand it and craft well-considered policy to balance the needs of the most people. Repubs will not "understand it" until it affects people like them; that is, white people.
3
Great argument for seeking prison time in all the corruption cases occurring right now in the Trump administration.
1
Vested self interest is what’s motivating Trump here.
4
All the examples of reformers were sent to prisons for white collar crooks, a far cry from the prisons filled with violent offenders and those with minor offenses, but predominantly black. If those who have suddenly seen the light had been sent to Angola, it wouldn’t have taken so long to act.
1
Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.
1
“These histories suggest that, ironically, mass incarceration might end sooner if more white-collar criminals were locked up.” Amen. Prison might be the one place where powerful white men get a taste of the Black experience. ... But why couldn’t Trump just relax and bask in the praise for this wonderful achievement? Instead, he blows up foreign policy and makes General Mattis feel he has to resign. Early word on the shortlist for new Defense Secretary: 1. Stephen Milller; 2. Ann Coulter; 3. Laura Ingraham; 4. Roger Stone; 5. Pete Hegseth of Fox and Friends.
1
@Mike C Doesn't this position require confirmation?
Wonder if the New York Times has learned anything.
President also said he would sign a law postponing conditions that would shut down the government. Hours later he changed his mind.
And now the Times seems to think he will sign the criminal justice reform bill?
Let's wait and see what this morning's tweets will bring.
Happy Holidays.
4
Clearly, we need to lock up more conservatives. Lord knows, they have no shortage of criminals. In the same vein, we will likely need to get more of their kids addicted to opioids if we want to see action on decriminalizing addiction.
3
Nothing turns a man's mind to criminal justice reform quite so well as the idea that he might soon get a taste of it. And no, that's not cynical; Donald Trump has never done a ting without thinking "What's in it for me?".
3
The best, and most Decent, thing this Regime has done. No, it’s not perfect, but what is ??? Congratulations.
2
The chant of “Lock her up” will have more humane consequences. Lucky Hillary.
1
This never would have happened had Jared's father not had to serve time for his crimes. Or had Kanye not given Trump a rare photo op with a black man. Not saying it's bad legislation, it's a start, but affects only about 10% of federal prisoners. Just thinking how far the money Trump wants for his wall would go in funding real opiod addiction and mental health problems in our country. Nobody's asking the real questions -- why are Americans so sick and addicted?
3
Trump and Kushner, of course, have a major vested interest here, since they are likely to be incarcerated soon.
1
There’s the old saying, “Even a stopped clock tells the right time twice a day”.
1
A stopped clock is right twice a day.
So how was McConnel persuaded to bring this to a vote? His track record is overtlly partisan. What made him cave?
Feathering their nests for post conviction.
Whatever. The man is a broken clock.
Trump has never been anything but a two-bit con-artist.
Compared to him, Bernie Madoff was a piker.
Desperate, out-of-their-minds Americans bought into him hook, line and sinker.
Millions of them still don’t understand what they bought into.
Poor Bernie is still rotting in jail. He never truly understood the first rule of being a con artist.
Which is, when you steal, you need to steal really big.
3
But even if that’s true in percentage terms, for many people, the new law will be a great blessing. Among other things, it retroactively applies a law that reduced the disparity between sentences for crack and powder cocaine, which could make around 2,600 prisoners eligible for immediate release. It also allows inmates to earn more time off for good behavior, gives judges more discretion on draconian mandatory minimum sentences, and requires that inmates be incarcerated closer to their families.
http://forumpakistan.com.pk/
They need to make room for all the members of this administration that will be going to federal prisons.
3
Come on Michelle,
Kushner was only a minor player in this reform who jumped on the bandwagon much later.
What is wrong with you people to always use the most known name as having had most influence.
Shame on you on not doing your homework and read a little about the peole who have been really fighting for it for many years.
3
Trump is a wrecking ball. Even if taking our troops away from horrible unjust wars is a good thing, he will find a way to turn it into a catastrophe. Same for federal prisoners. Putting Trump in prison and annulling Pence, Kavenaugh and all Trump's other appointments would go a long way towards mitigating the unmitigated disaster he has made. President Pelosi is the best and only outcome that would help restore sanity to America. MASA! Make America Sane Again!
2
This is an inappropriate article when our country is in the crosshairs of Russian influence to the point where our government is about to be shut down. The rest of us are scared stiff. Sorry, but stop trying to be balanced when our country is falling apart. Something Good? No. Impeach him now.
2
I wonder if any of Trump has any buddies in the joint who would qualify for early release under the new law?
Dude's got some cabinet positions to fill . . .
2
Everyone is so negative. Be happy that some good has occurred. It will help some people and save some money. It may push some states to change their systems.
37
@Robert
We're supposed to be happy that on good thing has happened during the most chaotic, destructive time in our nation's history history?
8
@Robert
Yay.
2 years into his presidency, and we have our first good thing happen. I can't wait for the next good thing, another 2 years from now... the 2020 election.
5
@Robert
I think it is more about giving credit where credit is due. Activists of color have lobbied unsuccessfully for decades to accomplish what it took a mere handful of rich incarcerated whites to get done in rather short order. I say lock more of them up,if this is the ultimate outcome.
I believe you show great insight in your comment that white collar incarcerations led to a better understanding and denunciation of mass incarceration. In the end, people, whether Republican or Democrat, are mainly good people shaped by their experiences.
I'm in favor of criminal justice reform with one exception.
When it comes to nonviolent white collar crime there should be long minimum sentences. These criminals take advantage of others not for need but for personal gain while most nonviolent criminals are committing crimes to survive.
For the trump's the sentences should be no less than 100 years without parole.
58
@JABarry Hmmm, that seems a little over the top. Instead, why don't you make the punishment fit the crime. If a financial executive causes 100 people to wrongly lose their homes, they should lose their home(s). If a pharmaceutical company falsely portrays the addictiveness of their drugs, leading to 70,000 annual deaths, they and all their family members should lose their lives.
4
@JABarry I agree and those bankers who peddled bogus mortgages to vulnerable people should be in the worst federal prisons. A pickpocket gets more time than these people who took advantage of those who wanted the American dream.
8
I'll bet a couple of years in the cooler would do a world of good for Individual 1.
4
Race is inextricably bound up in this. If it were Obama's idea, he would have been vilified by Republicans as a black man trying to free black "criminals" to commit more crimes. It's comical but sad that Republicans supported this because they could see the benefits for white men and their families.
Inevitably a handful of these 2,000 prisoners released are going to be arrested again. Because is this was a Republican bill, hopefully it cannot be turned into Willie Horton campaign commercials to hammer Democrats.
6
While I agree with Ms. Goldberg that this is excellent news, I can’t help noticing that it exemplifies a typical republican trait: not caring about a form of suffering until the republican him or herself is personally impacted. All of the Republicans cited, who support this bill became advocates of prison reform because they or people they cared about went to prison. Before, they did not. Republicans tend to be like this on many topics (gay rights, abortion rights, etc). That isn’t really morality at all.
7
Don't forget the bump stock ban, another positive step.
4
It's not just criminal justice reform that's good: Trump's withdrawal of our troops from Syria and drawdown of our troops in Afghanistan are also good things. It is amusing to watch the sputtering indignation of the military-industrial complex.
4
Even if the First Step Act won't directly affect the vast majority of America's prisoners, "federal" law often portends copycat state laws, and if the First Step Act does that, perhaps there will ensue similar state laws. Maybe even laws that go beyond what Congress could enact. Wishful thinking.
4
Always thought white collar crime ( which seldom gets prosecuted, see 2008 ) needed to be made an example so ‘they’ would develop some empathy.
It follows that if ‘they’ are progressively taxed ‘they’ will see the gift of community: health care and education for all.
Wishful thinking.
10
The pregnant question is whether Trump and his criminal appointees, ex-appointees and family members will be affected by the sentencing reforms. Inquiring minds want to know.
6
Thanks Michelle for shining some light during the darkest shortest day of the year. Good timing!
11
Ms. Goldberg may be right in her assertion that conservatives have become more interested in criminal justice reform as a result of brushes with the system or prison stays. But she misses an essential reason for the bipartisan support for these measures.
Underlying values aligned to produce these changes. Conservatives want the system to work better, and discovered that the get-tough approach succeeded only in overwhelming the prison system, overcrowding and creating more hardened criminals with little prospect of reform. Liberals want the system to be more fair and humane, with ex-convicts given a fighting chance to take a meaningful place in society.
Several states were way out ahead of the federal government on this alignment. Georgia and Texas found the unintended consequences of mass incarceration to be much worse than any problems it solved, and both the right and the left discovered allies on the other side. Here in my home state of Pennsylvania, self-described “law and order” judges saw how too many young lives were being destroyed by the lack of any attempt to cure people of addictions that prompted the criminal behavior. Some of them became outspoken advocates for reform and for expansion of comprehensive treatment courts that have low recidivism and high employment statistics, alongside more liberal social change nonprofits.
These across-the-political divide alliances have produced results that have changed lives, and should not be overlooked.
15
I am confident that Mr. Trump does not understand the elements of the legislation or its application to a limited number of federal cases, but we'll take any improvement we can get and appreciate the irony of someone signing a criminal justice reform bill while being the subject of 17 investigations and possibly a few sealed indictments.
Our capacity for the absurd increases every day.
49
Trump gets no credit for criminal justice reform.
Sure, Trump's illegible signature will be scrawled on the paper.
But that is his only part in it.
Trump gets no credit for the hard work done, started well before he was elected.
Trump contributed nothing.
Just like everything else.
Trump will preen and crow about this achievement - "I am the only one who could make this happen, there is no one better than me!".
Trump gets no credit.
None.
44
Congress should get the credit, and exclusive credit at that. DT had zero to do with this legislation.
7
Objectively speaking, it seems highly ironic that the most criminally corrupt administration in our history will count this criminal justice reform act among their few real achievements. Merely a coincidence? I think not.
34
SO TRUMP IS ONBOARD FOR Criminal Justice reform That's good long-term planning for, him because he's going to be facing lots of time in court related to the numerous alleged crimes he committed in the running of his foundation, and for other activities where he allegedly broke the law.
13
Donald Trump performs one single act of potential altruism, and it happens to coincide with the ever-expanding legal pit that he seems to have dug himself into.
What a mensch.
This piece should have been assigned to a less talented writer.
7
Yes, criminal justice reform saw daylight after twisting McConnell arm, and bribing despicable Trump about all the applause he would gather from his signature. Even a broken clock shows the correct time twice a day. And I am fully confident that Trump and his republican allies are in need of deep repair; or better, their replacement, to limit the awful expense of a worn- out machine, way decrepit and gathering dust for lack of ideas and service.
7
My immediate conclusion whenever anything like this pops up (very rarely, obviously) is that the guy has some clear-cut means of monetizing the outcome. Otherwise, what’s the point.
7
Drug addiction is a medical problem. People shouldn't be arrested for using cocaine or pot or heroin or opoids, etc. They should be arrested if they break the law to further their addiction, such as steal to get funds to buy drugs, etc. When elites joke in public - late night TV - about using drugs themselves without legal consequence, then why are we arresting others for doing the same thing?
Trump probably backed this reform because the prison-industrial companies' executives profiting from mass incarceration aren't donating to his campaign or buying memberships at Mar-a-Lago or staying at his hotels.
4
“Back then, I thought prison and sentencing reform were problems that only plagued ‘others’ — the bad people, the wayward children from broken homes, the criminal class,”
In other words, African-Americans.
But now that the latest drug crisis, opioids, also affects working-class whites, it's finally time to reform the criminal justice system.
Thus Trump is acting entirely consistently with his purported base, which is only marginally white-collar criminals and Larry Kudlow, a confessed cocaine addict who served no time.
5
According to government statistics, federal prisoners who are released have a 44% recidivism (re-arrest) rate after five years. So, if this program releases 25,000 convicted criminals, within 5 years about 11,000 of those released will commit another crime.
I wonder if anyone gave thought to what it means to reduce sentences and allow convicted criminals--including violent offenders and sex offenders--to run loose in our communities. Who is responsible for post-release crimes committed by those released early? An apology to their future victims will be of small consolation for those who are harmed; why doesn't the bill provide compensation for past and future victims of these criminals?
Odd that the NYT, which so often complains about treating victims like criminals, is now supporting efforts to treat convicted criminals like victims.
Virtually all criminals have not been forced but have chosen to commit their crimes. There is such a thing as free will; don't do the crime if you can't do the time.
1
I missed the part where violent prisoners were being released.
Why does Trump get credit for signing a bill that was created in Congress?
4
Oh cry me a river. The prototypical example Alice Marie Johnson had worked for FedEx before getting into the drug game. Her knowledge of how to ship mass quantities of drugs was undoubtedly deep and nuanced. What about ascribing to the jury the intelligence it deserves, and believing that Johnson deserved what she got. Also, ascribe to the Justice system that people who have had three major run-ins with the law are the inveterate criminals the law is reacting to.
1
Trump has never imagined any person to be real except himself. Now that he knows he will probably have to spend some time in prison, he's all for making it as nice an experience as possible.
2
Kudos to Trump for doing the right thing and for doing what Obama did not. Shame on the myriad never-Trumpers to follow who will do nothing but complain about Trump in this comments section.
5
Individual-1 had very little do to with his. He signed it with his Sharpie and that was about it.
The only 'criminal' he continues to think should be 'locked up', is his nemesis and her supporters.
This bill has been years in the making. For some, their moment of clarity might have been the cost of it all in dollars, for others that cost might have been counted in more human terms.
It is a start to dismantling the horrid system that incarcerates, disenfranchises, and ruins the lives of so many citizens, most of them poor.
Individual-1 deserves no credit. Please adjust your headline and give credit where credit is due, to those good people who have been struggling for years, many years, to make your society more just.
1
Perhaps Trump is actually thinking of his own future in a federal pen. And perhaps, just maybe, they'll teach him to do a useful trade like carpentry while he's in prison. You know, since there won't be any immigrants to do that anymore, someone's got to pick up the slack. Might as well be a newly reformed Trump.
2
Ms. Goldberg's surprise seems to be tied to the fact that she has to use some positive adjectives toward President Trump. Doing so must feel very strange to her.
2
Sigh. In response to the “give credit where credit is due”, both by the author, and the first commenters: he hasn’t signed it yet. Remember everybody more or less celebrating Trump’s “giving up on his wall” and backtracking on the shutdown threat... I remember it like it was yesterday... because it actually was yesterday.
He hasn’t signed it yet. And most likely won’t. Because he’ll be upset about his precious wall... or for a million other reasons. Haven’t we learned already how it works?
6
It is a very SMALL first step but the prisoners in most need to programs to help them reintegrate back into society upon release, namely those convicted of sex and violent offenses, are excluded from most of this law.
Consider most of these types serve a far longer sentence. A few years ago, I helped out a guy who served 20 years. Back in 1995 when he was arrested, few people had the internet at home or a cell phone, now our society seemingly can't function without both. He never saw a computer on the inside. He was so lost when he first got out. I had to sit down and teach him the basics, and by basic I mean-- This is a com-pu-ter. This is a power button. Yes, it was that bad, and the man was elderly, to boot. He's been out 3 years now, and while he still struggles with technology, he's better adjusted, thanks to me.
He had an offense that would disqualify him for any help under the First Steps Act. So, this is one small step for criminal justice reform, but far from the giant leap we all need for true reform.
2
Politicians decided it is time to reform our cruel and inhumane justice system so they begin by making life a little easier for their friends living in club Fed, someplace they might find themselves someday; but, do something for the masses? Never!
Interesting day today. This morning the Editorial Board championed our war in Syria, Elizabeth Warren is Trumpian, Trump withdraws from both Syria and Afghanistan, and now this. I see why everyone was worried Trump would bring the world to an end.
Trump's family - every single one of them I suppose, will be heading to prison soon.
This is self preservation on his part.
He gets no credit.
1
Jared's critics must be steaming-he actually pushed for something good, something sensible. As to white collar crimes, the biggest punishment isn't jail time, but payback time, and sadly many of them pay back a very small percentage of what they stole, and when released they enjoy the money they successfully hid. That is wrong. They should be stripped of as much $ as they can be, even if it hurts the family, too. Leave them enough to live simply.
I was worried Michelle thought pulling out of Syria was good. When liberals and conservatives worry about that, like Mr. Mattis, you know it is a really bad decision. Jared obviously had no say in that.
Of course Mr. Trump wants to humanize the criminal justice and prison systems. He and most of his cronies and family are headed there. Put the head of any major crime family in the White House and they would favor humanizing the criminal justice system. By the way, the rest of us should, too.
There is a wonderfully sweet irony in the fact that privileged and entitled conservatives seem only to develop empathy for the poor and powerless when their own illegalities and corruption put them in similar situations.
Prison and judicial reforms are a good start. If only we could see a way to create the same kinds of epiphanies about child poverty, economic disparity, access to medical care, and educational opportunities.
3
@Norman McDougall
Conservatives were born without an empathy gene, that is how they became conservatives.
This perhaps is a good first step in reforming our draconian and unfair to minorities and the poor criminal justice system. If anything, seeing a bi-partisan approach is a breath of fresh air. However, reform of the system is not enough to curb the abuses that finds too many juveniles and young adults who are Black, Hispanic or poor caught in the pipeline to prison. It is essential to emphasize primary and secondary prevention efforts. Under this act may be some problems with the risk assessments developed to determine reduced sentences. These risk assessments will tilt against the populations who are already disproportionately represented in the criminal justice system. Social and economic policies that place these persons at risk need attention and reform in order to alleviate the risks. Quality research has pointed this out for years. But politicians' fear mongering and chest beating has ignored research for decades.
5
Is Trump signing this law in the hopes that a judge, in the future, might take this "humanitarian" gesture into account while sentencing? Just askin'.
7
I am unwillingly to let Trump off the hook here. I think he sees the writing on the wall. I think it is one of the reasons he was shocked to become president. He knew that his time would be coming when the investigations started enmasse.
14
Great. It'd be nice if people could choose to do the right thing out of empathy rather than first needing to personally experience the wrong thing...but let's not pour pepper in the porridge. Yay to a micro-step in the right direction!
16
Democrats want to forget that the massive explosion in the number of incarcerated Americans occurred after the passage of the 1994 Clinton Crime Bill, co-sponsored by Joe Biden.
Yes, the numbers began trickling upward in the 80’s with mandatory sentencing laws, but the states blindly followed the federal example of mercilessly and ruthlessly locking up our fellow citizens after the 1994 crime bill.
Private contractors began incentivizing politicians to pass dumber laws with ever longer sentences.
And it was a bi-partisan affair, with both Hillary Clinton and Marco Rubio receiving significant money from the private prison industry.
Hillary said at the time that these were “super predators” who needed to be “brought to heel.”
Hillary was right about the super predators, but she misidentified the actual predators: true predators often manage to rise to positions of great power running our government and big business.
The Republicans were thrilled to let the Clintons push through the vicious, mean-spirited and destructive crime bill, but one should always remember that it was the Democrats who turned on their fellow Americans, with Mario Cuomo overseeing the biggest expansion in prison construction in the state’s history. That’s Mr. Cuomo’s real legacy.
I believe that former president Jimmy Carter said that the prison population has increased 7 fold from the time he left office.
Mr. Trump gets credit for introducing some sanity, which is ironic.
10
@Annie Gramson Hill, totally agree. Add in the privatization and profit seeking investors in prisons, and the competition for prisoners that followed, make it all the more shameful. Many prisons of which failed. Now the GOP turns their attention back to "$school choice". Lets hope that the left is not dumb enough to go along with that as well, which I'm afraid they may be.
The snide headline is was makes the left look bad.
1
@Annie Gramson Hill
Revisionist history. The Crime bill was part of Newt Gingrich's contract on Americans. After his horrible midterm loss in 1994 Clinton became just another Republican for the last six years of his presidency.
1
This is indeed good news, and everyone who helped make it possible deserves a measure of credit.
That long list of conservatives and powerful people who joined the campaign against excessive incarceration after being incarcerated themselves is encouraging, but it's also a little depressing in its egoistic pattern of cause and effect: first go to prison, then support reform.
That Donald Trump reversed the order could mean that he's less egoistic than he seems, or that he's more capable of planning ahead.
10
I suspect a big part of what's happened is that, concomitant with a general trend towards more socially libertarian values -if not identification with the Libertarian Party proper- in society at large; to wit, most of the population isn't really all that interested in over-regulating their consenting adult neighbors' private, moral lives- (which is why Democrats succeed on matters like LGBT marriage while still stumbling on issues like gun control) it would appear that some on the right have at long last grasped the hypocrisy and contradiction of promoting 'liberty' and 'free markets' while simultaneously sending a heavily armed SWAT team into their neighbors' living room just because they're smoking a joint over there.
Or at the very least they've finally made the connection between expensive prisons full of citizens arrested for nothing more than unauthorized use of their own nervous systems, and the check that goes to the IRS every April 15.
6
I truly doubt that Trump understands the bill at all, given that it would be written above 6th grade reading level - assuming he read it at all.
At any rate, it would be good for Trump to provide even an accidental benefit to society.
49
@Muelling Things Over Someone verbally ran through the main points for him.
1
@Brian
You could be right.
1
@Muelling Things Over. Trump is all for laxer sentencing guidelines ... He's just thinking ahead, looking out for his kids and himself. Have a very Mueller Christmas!
1
I've glanced over the provisions of the new law; I'm not an expert. My 1st impression is that it's an improvement, but that it may prove ineffective as to changing lives for the better.
Sentences have gone from ridiculous to less so, but those who are sentenced to long sentences still will come out maladjusted. As to those who serve very short sentences, some will reoffend, resulting in political sentiment toward going back to the old ways.
We need fundamental changes: Serious investment in education, rehab and training of offenders, not just a reduction of the time we keep them caged. This won't be easy or cheap, and much of it will be controversial. Whether our system is capable of it, I don't know.
27
@Joe So, sort of like a "New Deal" for prisoners? Providing job training and general education that is not available to the general population, at government expense? A nice dream, but will not happen. And I would have to study up on it extensively, but I'm not sure that is the model that other countries with lower incarceration rates are employing.
3
@Kim. Prison sentences tend to be much shorter in Western Democracies outside of the US. The day that Bernie Madoff was sentenced to 150 years, the woman who murdered Edouard Stern in Geneva was given 8 1/2 years. And because the prison populations are much smaller, the conditions are better.
3
Yes, most of those countries provide those things to everyone, not just the prison population. So people are less likely to offend, and then less to re-offend.
It’s funny though how this country cuts off its nose to spite it’s face. Even if you had hard proof that providing those things makes the system cost less and reduces crime, you could never make it fly politically.
7
Prison reform may haver been bipartisan but in my opinion Democrats and Republicans had different motives
Ragan emptied mental hospitals and eventually people with psychiatric problems wound up in the prison system Prisons became defacto mental institutions for far too many people
Prisons were also used as a substitute for solving social problems and a disproportionate amount of poor Blacks and Hispanics wound up incarcerated as victims of the War On Drugs and mass incarceration draconian sentencing policies even championed by the Clintons
I think the Democrats want prison reform because it's the right thing to do righting a terrible social wrong on multiple levels
For Republicans think the reasoning is largely fiscal It's just too expensive to maintain a correctional system that has more prisoners per capita than any other nation on earth
New York City abandoned Bloomberg's racist stop and frisk program and crime rates have not risen The governor of New York is about to decriminalize recreational marijuana
However without providing social programs and support networks for those released early or given lighter sentences and treatment alternatives for the multitudes of those released with mental health problems it is plausible that many of these people will find there way back to prison
Also our prisons themselves compared to other advanced democracies are overly punitive and dehumanizing and offer inmates little chance t rehabilitation leading to recidivism
17
Well, Michelle, you know what they say. Even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Or maybe even a stopped clock is correct two minutes out of every 1440.
11
So they screwed up. This week they're also managing to cede the Middle East to Russia and shut down the federal government over the ridiculous wall. I don't understand where this criminal justice reform package came from but the cynical part of me thinks it was just another move to create extra chaos and confusion.
21
@Dan It came from Jared Kushner.
I will be very generous and file Trump's support for the criminal justice reform under "even a broken clock is right twice a day."
68
Donald Trump rarely does anything that is good unless he stands to profit or benefit .... I wonder ??? There's got to be another reason other than the goodness in his heart ; guess all those privatized prisons are't doing so well ; however it took too long for our lawmakers to see the necessity of criminal justice reform .
20
It is depends on emphasis.
Most people say "criminal justice" system. It's time to call it what it is, a criminal "justice system."
16
Donald Trump is doing something good because it’s the course of least resistance politically, has no financial downside for him, and Vladimir Putin doesn’t have a problem with it. It’s not like he thought of it himself.
100
Even stable geniuses get something "wrong" every now and then, because accidents happen.
10
Old Ottawa Valley proverb;
‘Even if the greatest fool in the world swears the sun is shining,
It’s not necessarily dark out”.
I wish my American cousins all the best in these dark days.
Respectfully,
David Ross
42
@David Ross
This is indeed a nightmare, Mr. Ross, and I thank you for your good wishes. It's really hard to understand why this man is our president and why this administration is still in charge. These policies and these prevarications are so offensive that I shake as do many others.
Can I be your honorary cousin? May I be?
4
@David Ross - Thank you for the nice words, Mr. Ross.
1
Or as Thomas Friedman wrote years ago, something to the effect of, "Some things are true, even if George W. Bush believes them so."
21
@Robert Henry Eller Or, alternatively, "It's not right, but it's true."
2
A stopped clock is right twice a day. What happened here is that both sides in Congress realized that the current criminal justice system wasn't justice and was criminal. And Donald went along with it.
If this is the first step to true reform, that is great. But I fear that the first step may turn out to be the last step for some time to come.
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They are small steps that have been obvious for a long time.
Still, they didn't get done before.
Let's not overdue any credit, nor deny it is at least part of something that needed to be done. You know, deal with reality instead of partisan positioning.
20
Which word does NOT belong with the others?
A. Donald
B. Trump
C. prison
D. humanitarian
(the correct answer contains the word 'human')
242
@Socrates Very clever, as always, Socrates---thanks for that. And thanks also to Michelle Goldberg for yet another wonderful column---you are a real mensch.
15
@Socrates
Well done!!
5
Well played, Socrates!
5
Even if Trump and other Republicans are taking up criminal justice reform for cynical reasons - to soften their image, to have a legislative win, because gratuitous incarceration is wasteful, even because it might be one of them on the wrong side of the law - this is still the right thing to do. Our focus should be less on the motivations behind this move, and more on how constructive it would be for so many citizens.
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Give credit where credit is due. For whatever reason, this is one area where the GOP, and President Trump, have done a good thing.
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@DBman there is no way that individual 1 spent any time on this. His son in law had a personal connection to the issue, because of his dad. And I-1 just stayed out of the wAy while competing interests crafted a deal. He just did not care. Maybe that is the way to move progressive reforms.
42
It is predictable that Trump and company pushed this bill, just before they may get a chance to work their way through the new system.
112
My thought exactly Steve! Happy Holidays!
9
Colson't operation is one of the sectarian organizations that indoctrinates prisoners into fundamentalist Christianity. It's good that he learned about real prison, but I'm not happy with the way prison officials encourage such indoctrination.
That said, it's better to help prisoners return to society and function as members of it. There we have a long way to go. You know -- a journey of a thousand miles begins ...
10
''...experts expect the initial impact to be quite modest...'' - Indeed, and call me cynical.
Don't get me wrong, I am happy that many that have broken minor laws (especially around drugs and addiction) can get a small reprieve and those in the future will have more options. Having said that, this is a benign issue (republicans love those that don't extract a political cost to them) in the grand scheme of things.
Furthermore, I believe this is also a budgetary issue, where incarceration is taking over budgets - especially in republican controlled states.
The entire justice system needs to be reformed from top to bottom (especially as ''justice'' is becoming two tiered/ who can pay in regards to everything else in society). People that need to go jail aren't and those that are, go for very long times in regards to the crimes. (or worse if they are innocent)
It is going to doubly tough, now that republicans are/and have stacked the courts with extreme partisan ideologues that will be beholden to their beliefs.
We know what they are ...
58
Individual #1 does not have a magnanimous bone in his body. I would guess his support for this legislation is pure political calculation. He saw that it was going to pass with veto proof majorities so he supported it rather than suffer a political embarrassment. Had legislation to get tougher on crime been making its way through congress with strong support, you can be sure Individual #1 would have supported that just the same, for he does not care about much- mainly himself, and certainly not the plight of prisoners.
211
Who knew! I am not the only cynical soul in this comment stream! Had it not been veto proof, and had his boy Jared not started the ball rolling, you can bet individual 1 would not have approved it!
4