House Passes Bill to Create Commission to Study Crisis in the Criminal Justice System

The House of Representatives passed by voice vote on Tuesday a bill that will create a bipartisan, national commission to undertake a comprehensive review of the U.S. criminal justice system and make recommendations for reform.

“Today our prison population is expanding at an alarming rate, with costs to the taxpayers that are unsustainable. The bill passed tonight will assess the current crisis, reverse these disturbing trends and help save taxpayer money.” said Rep. Bill Delahunt, D. Mass, the bill’s main sponsor.

Despite being home to less than 5 percent of the world’s population, the U.S. — with 2.3 million people behind bars — has a nearly a quarter of the world’s inmate population, thereby earning the dubious distinction of being the most incarcerated nation.

About 7.3 million U.S. adults (or one in every 31) are in prison, on parole, or on probation, according to a Pew Center on States study. That figure is disproportionately higher among people of color – one in 27 Latinos and one in 11 Blacks are under correctional supervision. Twenty-five years ago, the rate for all adults was 1 in 77 nationwide.

In a July 27 letter to the House of Representatives, The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said that “these racial disparities call into question the practices utilized by law enforcement and the judicial system, and have had an overwhelming impact on minority communities.”

The letter states:

“The need for comprehensive review of our criminal justice system is undeniable.  At every stage of the criminal justice system, there are serious problems that undermine basic tenets of equality and fairness.”

A similar bill, sponsored by Sen. Jim Webb, D. Va., was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee in January and enjoys bipartisan support in the Senate though it has not come to the floor for a vote yet.