Durbin Statement On President Biden Commuting Sentences Of Nearly 2,500 Non-Violent Drug Offenders

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL), Ranking Member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, released the following statement after President Joe Biden announced the commutation of nearly 2,500 people convicted of non-violent drug offenses:

"I authored the Fair Sentencing Act and the First Step Act because I believe in second chances. Far too many incarcerated people are serving excessively long sentences for non-violent drug convictions, despite demonstrating good behavior and commitment to reintegrating back into society. I've met with formerly incarcerated people who have successfully transitioned back into society and reunited with their families, and it reminds me of the power of forgiveness, growth, and self-determination.

"I'm thankful the President is exercising his authority to commute these sentences, righting some wrongs of our criminal justice system, and providing a second chance to folks who have earned it."

Durbin was the lead Democratic cosponsor of the First Step Act of 2018, bipartisan criminal justice reform legislation designed to make our justice system fairer and our communities safer. The First Step Act was signed into law by then-President Trump in December 2018, and was championed by Durbin and U.S. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Cory Booker (D-NJ), and Mike Lee (R-UT). Durbin was also the lead sponsor of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, bipartisan legislation signed into law by the-President Obama that reduced the unjust sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and eliminated the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine.

Of more than 40,000 people released under the law through January 2024, only 9.7 percent have been rearrested or returned to custody compared to the Bureau of Prisons' overall recidivism rate of about 45 percent.

Durbin has long championed efforts to address inequities in our criminal justice system. Durbin has sponsored both the Smarter Sentencing Act and the Eliminating A Quantifiably Unjust Application Of The Law (EQUAL) Act. Durbin and Grassley introduced the bipartisan First Step Implementation Act, the COVID-19 Safer Detention Act, and the Prohibiting Punishment of Acquitted Conduct Act of 2021, legislation that aims to build on the First Step Act and continue Congress's bipartisan efforts to make our criminal justice system fairer.

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