Ministers, governors, Congress NOW working on prison reform - Gee, Imagine that

[packman]

As the White House seeks to make headway on criminal justice reform, Trump will meet with governors at his golf resort in Bedminster, N.J., on Thursday to discuss prison and sentencing reform.

The timing is propitious. Republicans and Democrats have found rare common ground, agreeing that the federal government needs to jail fewer people for less time at a lower cost to society.

Read more here: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/article216302455.html#storylink=cpy

[nycbos]

1. Even the Koch's support criminal justice reform.

[NCTraveler]

2. They need to get Jim Webb involved.

Webb never got enough respect for his forceful stance on prison reform, IMO. He is ahead of the curve in that area.

[janterry]

3. Trump is best buddies with the guys who run the private prisons

(GEO moved it's annual conference to Mar-a-Lago).

I don't think he cares one bit about what those gov's say. He do what CoreCivic, MTG and GEO tell him to do. This meeting is for show (imo)

[Dale Neiburg]

4. He's also likely to know an increasing percentage of the inmates.... n/t

[LeftInTX]

5. Some of it is even part of the Texas Republican Party's platform

Mostly for misdemeanors, fines etc. But at least it is something:

No Jail for Non-jailable Offenses: We call upon the Texas Legislature to end the practice of jailing individuals for offenses for which jail is not an allowable consequence under the law

Civil Asset Forfeiture: We call upon the Texas Legislature to abolish civil asset forfeiture and to ensure private property only be forfeited upon a criminal conviction. We also request the State Party Chair and the SREC consider the abolishment of civil asset forfeiture as a legislative priority for the Republican Party of Texas for the 2019 legislative session and to utilize reasonable Party resources necessary to promote and support its passage.

Civil Penalty: We support a change in the law to make it a civil, and not a criminal, offense for legal adults only to possess one ounce or less of marijuana for personal use, punishable by a fine of up to $100, but without jail time.

Raise the Age: We call upon the Legislature to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 17 to 18 years.

Debtor’s Prison: We call upon the Texas Legislature to enact laws that end the incarceration of individuals because they cannot pay tickets, fines, and fees for Class C Misdemeanors, including traffic violations.

Driver Responsibility Program: We call upon the Texas Legislature to abolish the Driver Responsibility Program and to immediately restore the driver licenses of the citizens whose licenses were suspended by the DRP and to cancel their debt.

_______________________________

Of course there is a bunch of bad stuff in their criminal justice platform, but these will have bipartisan support, so they will probably be passed in the next legislative session.

[thbobby]

6. I believe it is just for show as midterms approach

But perhaps it is self-preservation on trump's behalf. Funny thought but this is a show for midterms on how caring repugs are and how they can work across the aisle.

[msongs]

7. first get rid of cash bail then get rid of trump nt