US activist coalition to deliver 100-day criminal justice reform plan to Biden - Member

Barring-ton M. Salmon - Projected President-elect Joe Biden will be presented with an ambitious criminal justice reform plan by a coalition of more than 100 advocacy groups to implement during his first 100 days in office, Sentencing Project Strategic Initiatives Director Kara Gotsch told Sputnik.

Biden when he takes office on January 20 will be under significant pressure to deliver results in the "first 100 days" - a much-hyped performance benchmark for new administrations. The tradition began in 1933 under President Franklin D. Roosevelt who enacted 76 laws during this symbolic period. However, the former vice president is likely to face a divided Congress.

"I’m part of a coalition - the Justice Roundtable - and we’re putting together... very ambitious, comprehensive recommendations for the first 100 days to transform criminal justice," Gotsch said.

The coalition's blueprint of steps that must be accomplished to overhaul the system is expected to be done by the end of the week, she said. The process will be gradual and incremental, Gotsch acknowledged, especially considering a split congress means that passing anything will be difficult for Biden. However, she is more optimistic about opportunities under Biden than the current administration.

"There was some criminal justice reform, but it was limited," she said. "This [Trump] administration reversed policies of the Obama administration and Attorney General Eric Holder on private prisons, the 'Smart on Crime’ policies and they decided not to pursue the elimination of mandatory-minimum provisions."

Even the Trump administration's signature criminal justice achievement, the First Step Act, was rife with pushback, said Gotsch.

President Donald Trump signed the bipartisan legislation in 2018, which is designed to reduce recidivism.

"First Step is very limiting and trying to add the prison reform provision was exhausting," she recalled. "Senator Chuck Grassley was brave enough to say the bill wouldn’t move until sentencing reform and another provision were added. So far, sentencing reform had worked marginally and has not been implemented for two years. It’s completely absurd. Yet they took credit when First Step passed."

Gotsch said they have been especially disappointed with Trump's handling of the pandemic crisis in prisons.

"Congress gave the Department of Justice the opportunity to transfer vulnerable people who’re in prisons and jails home. But they have been overly restrictive and opposed every attempt at compassionate release. It’s a very cruel approach," she said. "I know people with severe pre-existing conditions... were told they’re going home and then they say, ‘Oops," no you’re not. There are people who are at health risk and we’re very concerned about them."

According to The Marshall Project, wardens approved less than 2 percent of 11,000 prisoner requests for compassionate release from March through May 2020.

Biden, projected to win the presidency by all major media outlets, will likely face a divided Congress because while the Democratic Party maintained control of the House, they failed to outright seize the 100-member Senate. The Democrats are projected to win 48 seats, the Republicans 50. However, the Republicans are favored to win at least one of two run-offs set for January.

Trump, who has yet to concede, has filed several legal challenges, citing alleged voter fraud. However, a coalition of federal and state election agencies in a joint statement said the 2020 vote was the most secure in US history.

The Sentencing Project advocacy group promotes legal reforms to reduce incarceration and address unjust racial disparities in the criminal justice system. The group’s leadership includes human rights lawyers and experts from groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).