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House Passes Crime Commission Bill

The House of Representatives today passed the Crime Commission bill, now known as H.R. 5143, the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010 (originally the idea of Sen. Jim Webb.) Despite the praise by progressive groups for the creation of a bi-partisan committee to spend 18 months studying what's wrong with our criminal justice system, I remain unimpressed.

We don't need an 18 month moratorium on the passage of much needed crime bills that have been languishing for months and years, like bills to equalize the penalties for crack and powder cocaine (unlikely to happen at all now that the House is set to vote to make them 18:1 instead of 100:1 with the reduction being prospective only, doing nothing for the thousands already sentenced), bills to reduce or eliminate mandatory minimum sentences, or increase federal good time. Or even a bill to reduce the draconian child p*rn guidelines. It will be just more "hurry up and wait."[More...]

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