Senators Paul and Schatz Team Up to Tackle Non-Violent Criminal Justice Reforms

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By Kody Fairfield

Rand Paul, the Republican Senator from Kentucky, and Brian Schatz, the Democratic Senator from Hawaii, have teamed up to sponsor a bill which would bring “commonsense” to the way non-violent drug crimes are treated, allowing for the saved resources to be allocated toward violent crimes.

In a statement released from the Kentucky Senator’s office, Paul explained that he and Schatz have re-entered the Reclassification to Ensure Smarter and Equal Treatment (RESET) Act.  This bipartisan legislation would reclassify specific low-level, non-violent drug possession felonies as misdemeanors, eliminate the distinction between crack and powder cocaine for sentencing, and ensure that food products containing drugs are weighed fairly, read the statement.

“The RESET Act more closely aligns punishment with the severity of the offense, making it possible for someone to get a second chance after a non-violent, youthful mistake, instead of a lifetime punishment,” said Sen. Paul, according to the release. “Our legislation will bring much-needed reform to our criminal justice system by ending the worst sentencing injustices for non-violent offenses.”

“Today, our flawed criminal justice system imposes strict punishments for non-violent, low-level crimes, creating a destructive cycle of recidivism that impacts those in our most vulnerable communities,” said Sen. Schatz, also in the released statement. “Our bill makes commonsense changes that will make sure punishments for low-level crimes are fair and our resources are directed toward violent criminals.”

READ THE BILL HERE:

Reset Act 2017 by Kody Fairfield on Scribd

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