Violent
criminals and sex offenders released early due to 'First Step Act' legislation,
Fox News, 7/23/19.
More than a hundred violent criminals and sex
offenders have been released under the First
Step Act,
President Trump's signature bipartisan criminal justice reform package,
according to data from an administration official provided to Fox News on
Monday.
The data,
first obtained exclusively by "Tucker Carlson Tonight," seemingly contradicted promises
from lawmakers and the White House that the legislation would largely
affect only prisoners sentenced for minor drug-related offenses.
Of 2,243 inmates released under the First Step Act, only 960 were
incarcerated for drug-related offenses.
On the
other hand, 496 were in prison for weapons/ explosives-related crimes, 239 for
sex offenses, 178 for fraud/bribery/extortion, 118 for
burglary/larceny and 106 for robbery, according to the data.
Another 59
were imprisoned over homicide/aggravated assault, 46 for
immigration-related offenses, nine for
counterfeiting/embezzlement and two for national security reasons.
In all,
2,023 of the inmates were male, while only 211 inmates were female. 1,017
of the 2,243 inmates are black, while 1,129 are white, 62 American
Indian and 35 Asian/Pacific Islander.
The
Justice Department announced last Friday that 3,100 federal inmates were
being released as part of the First Step Act, which has been heralded by
Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., as a start to righting a “broken” criminal
justice system that has "disproportionately harmed communities of
color."
Nevertheless,
on Tuesday, special assistant to the president Ja'Ron Smith told
"Tucker Carlson Tonight" that many of the violent inmates
would shortly have been released regardless of the First Step Act.
Several
hundred of the 3,100 released inmates were transferred into Immigration and
Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody or state prisons, which accounts for the
discrepancy from the 2,243 figure provided by the administration official
Speaking
on "Tucker Carlson Tonight," Louisiana Republican John Sen.
Kennedy, who was one of a handful of lawmakers to oppose the bill, said the
numbers were predictable.
"Good
intentions sometimes have nothing to do with actual consequences," Kennedy
told Carlson. "We were told that this would only allow low-level,
nonviolent criminals to go free. I didn't believe it, and I didn't believe it
because I read the bill. And now we find out that in the first traunch of
prisoners let free, 500 committed weapons or explosive crimes, 250 committed
sex crimes, I think there were 60 or 70 that were guilty of homicide or
aggravated assault. And those are not low-level, nonviolent criminals."
Kennedy
went on to describe the leadup to the bill as a "complete lie." He
said he had offered an amendment that would have required victims to be
notified about inmates' release, but that it was vetoed.
"To
me, this is pretty simple," Kennedy said. "I believe in the
Kantean definition of justice. C.S. Lewis talked about it. Saint Augustine
talked about it. Justice exists when people get what they deserve. Justice is
not necessarily deterrence, or rehabilitation, though that can be a
byproduct."
"Good intentions sometimes have nothing to do with actual
consequences."
Kennedy
added: "And I don't know why it is, Tucker -- if I make it to heaven,
I'm going to ask -- but there are some people in this world, they're not
mixed up, they're not confused, they're not sick, it's not a question that
their mama or daddy didn't love them enough. "They're just bad. And when
they commit criminal acts, justice required they be punished."
At the
State of the Union address earlier this year, Trump touted the First Step Act
as a major breakthrough focusing on nonviolent offenders.
“This
legislation reformed sentencing laws that have wrongly and disproportionately
harmed the African-American community,” Trump said. “The First Step Act gives
nonviolent offenders the chance to reenter society as productive, law-abiding
citizens. Now, states across the country are following our lead. America is a
nation that believes in redemption.”
President Donald Trump gestures to Troy Powell, left, at the 2019 Prison
Reform Summit and First Step Act Celebration in the East Room of the White
House in Washington, April 1, 2019. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Last week,
the DOJ published new standards to identify other inmates who may be
eligible for "good time" releases under the law.
“Starting
today at prisons around the country, nearly 3,100 inmates are being released
from BOP (Bureau of Prisons) custody due to the increase in good-conduct time
applied to reduce their sentences under the First Step Act,” Deputy Attorney
General Jeffrey Rosen told reporters.
The move
marked the largest group to be freed so far under a clause in the First Step
Act that reduces more sentences due to "earned good time."
In
addition to reuniting with their families, the formerly incarcerated
citizens could obtain employment opportunities announced by Trump
last month at the White House as part of the "Second Chance" hiring
program.
The
department said last week it would move $75 million in existing resources
to fund the bill in the 2019 fiscal year, and launch a new “risk and
needs assessment system designed to assess inmates’ risks of recidivism and to
identify their individualized needs to reduce their risks of re-offending.”
Meanwhile,
the bill’s retroactive application of the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act has so far
resulted in 1,691 sentence reductions, the department said in a press release.
The 2010 Act reduced the difference between sentences for crack cocaine and
powder cocaine possession at the federal level, in a bid to reduce the racial
disparity in resulting incarcerations.
Other
provisions in the First Step Act ease mandatory minimum sentences under federal
law. For example, the legislation reduces the "stacking" of drug
offenses to drive up sentences, and prescribes 25-year terms, rather than life
terms, for many "third strike" crimes.
Fox News' Alex Pfeiffer, an
investigative producer for "Tucker Carlson Tonight," contributed to
this report.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody
GA Tea Party Leader
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