AFP-NJ: Senator Booker Gave New Jerseyans a Great Gift

Dec 20, 2018 by AFP

Trenton, NJ – Today, Americans for Prosperity- New Jersey (AFP-NJ) celebrated the passage of the FIRST STEP Act, a package of critical criminal justice reforms. AFP-NJ also praised the Senator for his proven track-record of championing criminal justice reform. As a part of a six-figure thank you campaign in November, many constituents received direct mail thanking key legislators for their sincere support of the FIRST STEP Act. Now, AFP-NJ will continue its tradition of applauding the support of good policy by sending targeted and direct mail to Senator Booker’s constituents encouraging them to thank the Senator for his support of the FIRST STEP Act.

AFP-NJ state director Erica Jedynak issued the following statement:

“It’s no secret that Senator Cory Booker is a champion for criminal justice reform. His support of the FIRST STEP Act proves what Washington can accomplish when it puts partisan politics aside. During this holiday season, we encourage his constituents to reach out to his office and thank him for supporting the FIRST STEP Act which makes important reforms to the federal criminal justice system by focusing on rehabilitating federally incarcerated people and giving them the tools needed to successfully reenter society upon release from prison.”

View the digital ad for Sen. Booker here

Background:

Freedom Partners signs coalition letter opposing amendments to First Step Act
Americans for Prosperity issues Key Vote Alert in support of the First Step Act
The FIRST STEP Act requires the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) to place inmates no more than 500 driving miles from home, helping spouses, parents, and children more practically visit their family members behind bars and making it easier for inmates to reintegrate into society upon release.
Fixes a mistake in federal law to ensure that all well-behaved prisoners not serving life sentences can accrue 54 days of “good time credit” off their sentences per year, instead of the 47 per year that 178,000 inmates currently receive.
Directs the BOP to let low-risk low-needs inmates serve home confinement for up to 6 months of the end of their sentences.
Retroactively applies the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, which reduced the crack-cocaine sentencing disparity from 100:1 to 18:1, to current inmates.
Expands eligibility for the federal “safety valve” (18 U.S.C. § 3553(f)) to keep more low-level drug offenders from incurring mandatory minimums meant for high-level drug traffickers, creating more proportional punishments.