Project for Opportunity and Safety

GOP senator: Fight crime by reducing minimum sentences

A Republican senator insisted Monday that being tough on crime and reducing minimum sentencing requirements are not contradictory goals.

“[The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2016] does not allow for anyone currently incarcerated to be automatically released … and I assure you that jail cells will not swing open and people will not get out of jail free and criminals will not be loosed onto our communities throughout the country,” said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, on Monday at an event highlighting the federal prison reform bill he is co-sponsoring.

Cornyn said the bill allows for judicial review of mandatory minimum sentences on a case-by-case basis. He said the savings from reducing incarceration rates among those who are open to changing their lives for the better would allow the government to focus federal incarceration funds on the country’s most hardened criminals.

In addition, Cornyn said the proposed “overhaul” of the criminal justice system will increase investments in rehabilitation programs supporting those seeking an opportunity to reenter society as law-abiding citizens.

“We shouldn’t give up on anybody in this country and people who make mistakes can sometimes benefit from a second chance,” Cornyn said.