Who is the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition?

Our mission is to reverse the trend of mass incarceration in Colorado. We are a coalition of nearly 7,000 individual members and over 100 faith and community organizations who have united to stop perpetual prison expansion in Colorado through policy and sentence reform.

Our chief areas of interest include drug policy reform, women in prison, racial injustice, the impact of incarceration on children and families, the problems associated with re-entry and stopping the practice of using private prisons in our state.

If you would like to be involved please go to our website and become a member.


Saturday, September 06, 2008

Sentencing Project Submits Recommendations To Sentencing Commission

Commissions are becoming very popular and in order to address real sentencing issues with The Sentencing Project has submitted comments to the United States Sentencing Commission regarding priorities for the Commission's focus for 2008-09. Here's an excerpt of the letter, click below to read the entire letter ...

Expand Alternatives to Incarceration in Federal Guidelines

The Sentencing Project strongly supports the Commission’s consideration of alternatives to incarceration during its upcoming amendment cycle. As highlighted at the Commission’s July 2008 symposium, Crime and Punishment in the United States: Alternatives to Incarceration, states are taking bold steps to reduce prison populations by expanding the use of alternative sentences that divert offenders from incarceration. We urge the Commission to follow suit and expand the federal sentencing guideline ranges for nonviolent offenses to include non-imprisonment sentencing options in a broader range of cases.
Over 200,000 people are incarcerated under the jurisdiction of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, making it the largest prison system in the country. The population doubled in the period 1995-2005, largely due to a jump in incarcerations for drug and public order offenses. Violent offenses were responsible for less than 10% of the increase in the prison population over this period. These high rates of incarceration for nonviolent offenses, and the significant cost associated with imprisonment, highlight the need to reduce the federal prison population by diverting individuals serving sentences for these low-level offenses from prison.
Click to read the whole letter

No comments: