Kentuckians Urge Senator McConnell to Advance Criminal Justice Reform

LOUISVILLE, KY – Today, Kentucky civil rights and religious advocates hosted a press call urging their senator, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, to support the pending bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act and to bring the bill to a vote on the Senate floor. 

The bill, which would implement urgently needed reforms to the nation’s criminal justice system, was voted out of the Senate Judiciary Committee more than 100 days ago. It has support from conservatives, liberals, and community advocates from across Kentucky, but Senator McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, has yet to schedule a vote on the bill or voice his support for it. The bill provides a rare moment of bipartisan consensus on the critical issue of criminal justice reform, and advocates are urging McConnell to take action.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights took out a radio ad in Louisville urging Senator McConnell to bring this critical bill to the floor. Click here to listen to the ad.

Click here to listen to an MP3 of the call.

Quotes from the call’s participants are below.

Raoul Cunningham, President of the Kentucky Conference of the NAACP

“The NAACP has been actively involved for a long period of time in sentencing reform. This bill is particularly important to us because approximately one in five African Americans in Kentucky can’t vote because of a prior conviction. We hope that Senator McConnell will call this legislation up for a vote.”

Dr. Peggy Cecil Hinds, Interim Executive Director of the Kentucky Council of Churches

“We believe we need an approach to our justice system that embodies the values of fairness, accountability, and the basic human dignity of each person. This legislation will move us closer to those values, and to a more humane, cost-effective system.”

David Horvath of Louisville Showing Up for Racial Justice

“Racial bias, both implicit and explicit, keeps more people of color in prisons and on probation than ever before. At no other point in U.S. history have so many people—disproportionately people of color—been deprived of their liberty. Senator McConnell is in a position of influence and leadership and could be instrumental in moving this legislation forward toward passage.  This would demonstrate his leadership and his ability to work in a bipartisan effort, for the sake of all the people he represents, both Democratic and Republican, white and black.”

Darryl Young, Mentor Coordinator at the Kentucky Youth Career Center’s Right Turn Program

“This is a very important bill that needs action. At Right Turn, we seek to help adjudicated youth 16-19 to reenter society as citizens and help them get on the right track. It is very important that we do not do further damage to the youth who have been put into the juvenile system.  They still need an opportunity to be productive citizens and lead productive lives.”

Scott Simpson, Media and Campaigns Director for The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights in Washington, D.C.

“This is one of the issues where both parties agree that reform is needed. Americans want reform. Polls continue to show that Americans want a justice system reform that’s more fair, protects public safety, and uses our resources efficiently. These issues hit hard in Kentucky and Senator McConnell should step up and advance this bill.”

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