Washington (December 19, 2018) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) released the following statement after the Senate passed the sentencing reform bill, the First Step Act. The United States has 2.2 million people in the nation’s prisons and jails, as well as the highest prison population rate in the world.

“The First Step Act is the start of a long overdue transformation of our federal criminal justice system,” said Senator Markey. “While it does not include all the reforms I had hoped to see, this bill is a step in the right direction. If we are to close the revolving door to and from prison that traps too many inmates, we must start with these basic reforms.

“This legislation includes critical provisions to reform our system’s draconian and unjust sentencing laws. The First Step Act both eases mandatory minimum sentences under federal law and makes retroactive the reforms enacted by the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. The First Step Act is just the beginning of the national apology we owe to the generation of African-American men and women who lost their lives and futures in prison due to a few dollars of crack cocaine and an unjust War on Drugs.

“The First Step Act also includes a number of prison reforms to improve conditions for prisoners, promote rehabilitation, and prevent recidivism. It allows prisoners to acquire earned time credits for participation in programming aimed at rehabilitation and reentry. It also prohibits the shackling of pregnant prisoners, expands compassionate release for elderly and terminally ill prisoners, and ends federal juvenile solitary confinement. These are much needed reforms in our criminal justice system that promote dignity and respect. 

“We have a long way to go before we have a truly just criminal justice system. We must always remember that we send criminals to prison as punishment, not for punishment.”

###