Faith Leaders Hail Progress on Bipartisan Criminal Justice Reform Package

“We are joined in our commitment to advancing the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. Inaction will harm children and families,” says Interfaith Coalition Letter

WASHINGTON – A diverse coalition of 60 faith organizations endorsed the newly revised Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act in a letter released today to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Harry Reid. The group’s earlier work was recognized as being a motivating force behind Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Charles Grassley’s decision to advance criminal justice reform legislation last year. Faith leaders whose organizations endorsed the Senate letter pledged their commitment to seeing the legislation enacted into law:

“All God’s children have genuine capacity for change and transformation and our past should not forever dictate our future. Congress should honor this sacred teaching of redemption, and move quickly to pass vital federal criminal justice reform that will aid rehabilitation and curb excessive sentences for many thousands of people.”

Rev. Dr. Susan Henry-Crowe, General Secretary, United Methodist Church, General Board of Church and Society

“The words of Deuteronomy beseech us: Justice, justice shall you pursue. The imperative to ensure that justice is applied through just means is no less true today than it was during the Biblical era. For too long, the U.S. justice system has been plagued by racial disparities, mass incarceration, and poor treatment of prisoners that often leaves them without the skills to successfully reintegrate into society upon release. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (S. 2123), while not perfect, will take significant and overdue steps to address many of these challenges. As Jews who have just celebrated the Passover holiday with its themes of justice and redemption, we call on the Senate to swiftly pass this bill.”

Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, Director, Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism

“Children and families in Black communities are disproportionately impacted by the excessive mandatory minimums that have helped create mass incarceration and the federal prison crisis. We can wait no longer for the justice due thousands of people incarcerated under outdated and cruel sentencing regimes.”

Rev. Dr. Iva Carruthers, General Secretary, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference

“This bill is an important step in addressing the overly harsh and unfairly long sentences that have been separating families, damaging communities, and destroying futures for far too long. We urge the Senate to take action now and pass this bill.”

Diane Randall, Executive Secretary, Friends Committee on National Legislation

Read today’s interfaith letter to Senate leadership in support of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act here.

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Founded in 2006, the Interfaith Criminal Justice Coalition (ICJC) brings together a large and diverse group of faith organizations to engage in federal advocacy campaigns to address mass incarceration in the United States. As a faith community we are committed to policies that restore equity, end excessive punishments, promote alternatives to incarceration, encourage rehabilitation and reintegration and protect the dignity and well-being of everyone impacted by the criminal justice system.