It's time to give back some power to make judgments on sentencing to our courts, our corrections officials, and the parole board who are trained to make them. With Iowa's prisons becoming more and more overcrowded and a tight state budget that threatens adequate funding for education, now is the time to revise Iowa's 70% mandatory minimum sentencing laws. Our current 70% law paralyzes Iowa's Board of Parole from making decisions on who and when certain inmates can be released. Inmates serving these mandatory minimums are not even eligible to be considered for parole until they have served 70% of their sentence. The crazy thing is, a lot of people we have sitting in our prisons serving these mandatory minimums probably score lower on risk assessment than inmates who are being let out within six months of going in. And that is why we are asking for your support for legislation this 2016 session to reduce the 70% mandatory minimum sentences, and an amendment to make it retroactive for all inmates currently serving these sentences in Iowa prisons. Legislation will not immediately let anyone out of prison, but it will give the parole board the option to consider parole or work release for inmates who have satisfied strict requirements.

Our state's massive one-size-fits-all mandatory minimums do not make our streets safer, but instead squander money and valuable resources from the state of Iowa; resources that could be used on effective programs that will lead criminal offenders to productive lives. A person who is convicted of a crime, especially a crime of violence, needs to be swiftly punished. However, with Iowa's prison population projected to rise over 10,000 inmates in the next ten years, making it a necessity to build new prisons here in the state, we must think smarter about how we prosecute crime, and how we spend Iowa's tax dollars. Legislation that would lower 70% mandatory minimum sentences still maintain strict penalties for serious crimes, but would also give power to decide which individuals are released as well as when they will be released to the legal professionals who are trained to make those decisions: thereby making our streets safer and saving Iowans money in the process.

We must act now to get our legislators on board to pass legislation and make it law. By signing this petition you are saying to lawmakers that Iowa needs laws that make us safer, but also provide for maximum rehabilitation and change for Iowa's prison population. You are saying to them that inmates who have shown they are ready to come home to their families and be productive citizens should be given another chance to do so. You are saying to them that being tough on crime isn't about locking people away for the majority of their lives; it's about saving tax payers money by making smart investments in programs and people that truly make a difference. Most of all, you are letting inmates know that there is a path to redemption and, when they work hard to earn it, society will welcome them back once again.

For all these reasons we humbly ask that you sign this petition to show your support for legislation this 2016 session to reduce the 70% mandatory minimum sentences, and the amendment to make it retroactive for all inmates currently serving these sentences in Iowa's prisons.