Tennesseans Urge Senators Corker and Alexander to Support Criminal Justice Reform

NASHVILLE, TN – On Wednesday, March 23, Tennessee civil rights and criminal justice advocates held a press call urging Senators Corker and Alexander to support the bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act.

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 150 days ago. It has support from conservatives, liberals, and community advocates from across the country, but Senators Corker and Alexander have not yet joined more than a dozen of their Republican colleagues as a bill co-cosponsor. The bill provides a rare moment of bipartisan consensus on the critical issue of criminal justice reform, and advocates are urging Corker and Alexander to take action.

Click here to listen to an MP3 recording of the call.

Below are quotes from the call.

Gloria Sweet-Love, President of the Tennessee State Conference NAACP, Brownsville, TN

“This is an opportunity for our Senators to show leadership at a time when our nation is focused on issues of policing and justice. It’s a time for them to show that Congress can work together to reform and pass a major piece of justice legislation. The polls show that people want reform. We need reform.”

Eric Alexander, a formerly incarcerated youth advocate with YMCA of Middle Tennessee Nashville, TN

“I am here to add a voice to the growing conversation of ending extreme sentences for juveniles. I’m a 40 year old man who went into the system at 17 – I served 9 years and 10 months. I found many young men in prison who had changed, who have spent 20 years there. Our senators should give juveniles the opportunity to have their cases considered, to see how they have changed and given to their society. Let them be members of our society.”

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