Reinstate Federal Parole

     The Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 abolished federal parole for all federal inmates. In the June 30th 2019 Washington Post, Federal District Judge Adelman wrote that the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act has been a "disaster". Hence, abolishing parole for federal inmates has been disastrous.

     Locking people up and throwing away the key is also disastrous, and the U.S. Federal Governemnt has been locking people up and throwing away the key ever since they abolished parole in 1984. Also since 1984, the number of people serving LIFE sentences - or virtual LIFE sentences - have quadrupled. Many of these LIFE sentences were the result of the War on Drugs. The War on Drugs also resulted in the federal prison population going from 25,000 inmates in 1980 to 200,000 inmates in 2012; that's 200,000 friends, cousins, sisters, brothers, fathers and mothers that need Federal Parole Reinstated.

     Volumes of statistical data now prove that crime rates don't increase because of prisoners getting an early release, so the reason why people were reluctant to support Reinstating Federal Parole in the past is no longer valid. Restorative justice, ending mass incarceration, and correcting unjust sentences, however, are very valid reasons to support Reinstating Federal Parole in the present.

     Another valid reason to support Reinstating Federal Parole is that it helps practically every group of people in the United States of Ameirca. It helps our veterans that are locked up in federal prison. It helps men, women, and members of the LGBTQ community. It helps white people, black people, hispanic people, native people, and every other kind of person locked up in federal prison. Last but definitely not least, it helps the family members of people locked up in federal prison. (When a person goes to prison, it doesn't just affect them. It affects everybody that loves them!) Regardless of the time or offense, Reinstating Federal Parole can help prisoners, their families, and society if that prisoner (1) behaves well, and (2) successfully completes an appropriate amount of rehabilitative programming while in prison.

     Reinstating Federal Parole means prisoners sentenced to more than 30 years (including life) would be eligible for parole after they served 10 years. And prisoners sentenced to less than 30 years would be eligible for parole after they served one-third of their sentence. Once again, research done by the U.S. Sentencing Commission shows that reductions in prison sentences does not adversely affect public safety.

     Furthermore, it's unfair for the federal government to not offer their prisoners parole when 34 states in the U.S. do. To add insult to injury, approximately 1% of federal prisoners still receive parole hearings, so it's not like Reinstating Federal Parole for the other 99% would be a very difficult thing to do.

     In conclusion, Federal District Judge Adelman also wrote in that 2019 Washington Post article that "Congress was foolish to have abolished parole and should overturn that decsision". We agree with Judge Adelman, and we need you to support Reinstating Federal Parole too. God bless you and God bless America . Thank you.