Legislation would transform the criminal justice system.
Representatives Rashida Tlaib of Michigan and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts introduced legislation named the BREATHE Act that would substantially transform the nation’s criminal justice system, among other agenda items.
Among the provisions of the legislation is divesting from police and agencies like the DEA and ICE as well as moving federal resources away from incarceration and policing. Life sentences and mandatory minimum sentences would be eliminated from criminal justice penalties, and civil asset forfeitures would be ended. In its place would be a commitment to community safety where cooperation with immigration authorities would be ended, police gang databases would be abolished, all outstanding court debt would be forgiven, and a 50 percent federal match for projected savings when states and/or local jurisdictions close detention facilities, including jails, would be available.
The legislation would close youth detention centers, create tools to promote environmental justice, and provide lifetime education for illegal immigrants and the currently incarcerated.
Finally, officials would be held accountable for damages if they have committed a constitutional violation, commissions would be established to “design reparations” for many, and local and state resident voting would be allowed for illegal immigrants.
The BREATHE bill goes beyond the House-passed police reform bill of last month. The Senate voted 55-45 in favor of that bill, but it needed 60 votes to move forward.
As the Lord Leads, Pray with Us…
- For members of the House of Representatives as they take up the proposed legislation that would reform policing and the criminal justice system, among other things.
- About the depth of political divisions that seems to be strengthened on both extremes of the spectrum daily.
Sources: The Hill, Fox Business News
