Rand Paul op-ed: U.S. drug policies, legal system hurt African Americans most

[jct74]

Sen. Rand Paul: U.S. drug policies, legal system hurt African Americans most
Let's give nonviolent offenders a second chance

Sen. Rand Paul
July 22, 2014

CINCINNATI --The biggest impediment to voting and employment in our country is a criminal record. Many young people could escape this trap if criminal justice were reformed, if records were expunged after time served and if nonviolent crimes did not become a permanent blot preventing employment.

The current system has placed a premium on punishment for nonviolent crimes and placed a lower priority on helping ex-offenders re-integrate into society. The impact of a criminal record on an individual's life is vast; everything from the right to vote to finding a job can be affected.

So I have joined with Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) in proposing bipartisan solutions that will fix America’s broken criminal justice system, save taxpayer dollars, boost our economy and help to address the deeply damaging racial and socio-economic disparities that have multiplied in our system over recent decades.

This legislation, known as the REDEEM (Record Expungement Designed to Enhance Employment) Act, will give Americans convicted of nonviolent crimes a second chance at the American dream.

Last week, the REDEEM Act was also introduced in the House of Representatives with bipartisan support from Reps. Chaka Fattah (D-Penn.) and Frank Wolf (R-Va.).

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http://www.wcpo.com/news/opinion/op-...mericans-most-

[francisco]

Kudos and +rep to jct74 for doing such a great job finding & posting articles like this one.

Kudos to Rand for once again knocking it out of the park with a well-reasoned policy prescription for an important problem, and bringing the Liberty-oriented solution to light.

I can scarcely believe it, but it's true. It's happening.

[Brian4Liberty]

Good position for Rand to take.

Of course the caveat in our convoluted criminal justice system is what exactly does "violent" mean? We have had the same problem with laws like three strikes which use "felonies" as a metric. They can turn almost anything into a felony. Will they do the same with "violent crime"? Will they expand the meaning of that terminology?

[RonPaulMall]

Good position for Rand to take.

Of course the caveat in our convoluted criminal justice system is what exactly does "violent" mean? We have had the same problem with laws like three strikes which use "felonies" as a metric. They can turn almost anything into a felony. Will they do the same with "violent crime"? Will they expand the meaning of that terminology?

Also, the vast majority of our criminal justice system takes place at the state, not the Federal Level. So while it is fabulous to give some relief to those unfairly caught up in our insane and unconstitutionally vast Federal Criminal System, if we want reform that truly makes a difference we'll have to bring these ideas to the state level and get them passed there too. But kudos to Rand for doing all he can and providing the model and leadership for states to follow.

[Ronin Truth]

The crime stats would seem to imply that the hurt is largely self-imposed.