President's endorsement of FIRST STEP Act compromise is progress for federal criminal justice reform

WASHINGTON, DC – At a White House event today, President Donald Trump endorsed compromise criminal justice reform legislation that would reduce some mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses, increase good time credits for people in prison and expand rehabilitation in federal prisons. The Sentencing Project, having previously expressed reservations about the FIRST STEP Act that passed the House of Representatives in May, issued the following statement by Kara Gotsch, Director of Strategic Initiatives, regarding the President's support for sentencing reforms:

"With the inclusion of modest sentencing reforms to the FIRST STEP Act, thousands of people who otherwise face excessive mandatory minimum sentences – including life without parole – for drug offenses would encounter a sentencing scheme that is a little fairer and a little more humane. Legislative opportunities to improve the federal government's harsh sentencing structure and conditions of confinement are few and far between, and while this approach still leaves many suffering people behind, we must embrace progress when we see it. I look forward to reading the finalized language of the FIRST STEP Act upon introduction and offering more detailed comments then."

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