Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2009

i've been thinking lately about the reform v. revolution debate, which in relation to prisons and the prison industrial complex becomes reform v. abolition. where is the line separating prison reform which ultimately lends further legitimacy to prisons as an institution by making the system somewhat less inhumane or somewhat more comprehensive (more education programs available, better quality programs, etc) from prison reform which moves us and society in the direction of a world without prisons? this bill has the potential to release large amounts of people from prison--
...but it also reinscribes the idea that "violent offenders" should be locked up for longer, and should not have the chance to successfully re-enter society, the idea that violent crime is about individual responsibility and never our collective social responsibility, the idea that our prison system is legitimate instead of its fundamentally being a racist-- and therefore illegitimate--institution.

also, what is the rhetoric of the 45-or-older clause?

Federal Prison Bureau Nonviolent Offender Relief Act of 2009, introduced on January 6th:

LEGISLATIVE CHAMBER: U.S. House of Representatives

SPONSOR: Representative Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-TX

Digest of H.R. 61:

Amends the federal criminal code to direct the Bureau of Prisons, pursuant to a good time policy, to release a prisoner who has served one half or more of his or her term of imprisonment if that prisoner:

(1) has attained age 45;

(2) has never been convicted of a crime of violence;

(3) has not engaged in any violation, involving violent conduct, of institutional disciplinary regulations.

In July 2007, Sheila Jackson-Lee said about the bill:

Many may hear this debate and suggest that incarcerated persons should be treated in a certain way. This is a very simple amendment. It asks for a study to look at the possibilities of early release for nonviolent prisoners who are over the age of 45.

How does that help our community? One, it sends individuals back home to their families to provide resources. We know that we are watching a second chance bill make its way through this Congress. We hope that it will move quickly. Many of these offenders are middle age. Many of them are sick. This costs a great deal for the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

It is noted that 1.1 million nonviolent offenders are currently locked up. Many of them are African Americans, and in the 1930s, 75 percent of the people entering State and Federal prison were of the majority population. That is not the case now.

So it's a simple premise. It has been adopted in the authorization bill. It asks the hard question, why are we incarcerating for decades and decades nonviolent individuals who pay their debt to society, when they could come out and provide the comfort and nurturing and financial support to their own families and also address the question of Federal prison overcrowding?


to track this bill, go to Open Congress or GovTrack