Instead, she’s getting drug remedy at a New Jersey midway home, where President Obama will visit Mon.in an effort to spotlight efforts to reintegrate offenders back in to the community somewhat than impose long, costly jail sentences.
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The White House says it is “encouraged” by such legislation in a new statement, but emphasizes the president’s order will take immediate action, mandating that the federal government’s HR department “delay inquiries into criminal history until later in the hiring process”. The Obama administration will also clarify its “one strike” rule that prevents many people with arrest records from living in public housing.
With only 5 percent of the world’s population, the United States accounts for about 25 percent of the world’s prison population, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.
“There was an inclination in the old days to get tough, or at least not be a leader on this [criminal justice] issue”, Marc Mauer, executive director of the Sentencing Project, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that advocates for sentencing reform, told the Associated Press. “Nobody is going to lose an election based on crime policy like they might have once”.
The President is announcing several other measures Monday, including public housing and money for re-entry programs, and he is speaking about prison reform in a speech and an exclusive interview with NBC Nightly News Anchor Lester Holt. In the national conversation about crime and punishment, Obama hasnt been afraid to identify with the people being policed, as well as with the police.
Without new laws, Obama is limited in what he can to do.
A few political opponents have criticized the president for his position on policing. Does he stand up for law enforcement?
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“Over the course of this year, I’ve been talking to folks around the country about reforming our criminal justice system to make it smarter, fairer, and more effective”, Obama said.
