In praise of bipartisan prison reforms

Citizens who have long lamented partisan gridlock in Washington, D.C. have something to cheer about this month - and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley to thank.

Grassley, a Republican who leads the Senate Judiciary Committee, came to a news conference podium, flanked by a bipartisan mix of his peers, to announce the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015. It's a bill he described as the 'biggest criminal justice reform in a generation.”

'There are things in here that each of us like. There are items that each of us would rather do without,” Grassley said. 'But this is how the process works here in Congress - very different perspectives coming together to support a bill that will make a big difference.”

It's been a long time, but we do remember that things once worked that way.

This particular bill limits the use of mandatory minimum sentences, increases judicial discretion and makes it easier for defendants to access 'safety valves” related to mandated sentences.

And while we continue to debate whether or not the bill goes far enough, we agree it is a good step to reforming many reactionary minimum sentences, imposed by Congress as part of the various wars on the headline-grabbing cultural ill of the day.

'For the first time we are cutting back many of the most severe mandatory minimums so that they apply more fairly,” Grassley said. 'We are bringing real reform to our prisons that give low-risk inmates the chance to return to society earlier, with better prospects.”

Striking this pose - too often and too easily misinterpreted as 'soft on crime” - has historically served as a political death blow, especially when announced on the eve of national elections. We can think of no lawmaker better suited than Iowa's long-serving and no-nonsense Grassley to debunk such frivolous charges. We applaud him for having the courage and tenacity to support better law, regardless of popularity.

The bill calls for a reduction of minimum sentencing from 10 to 5 years in qualified cases, and from 20 to 15 in others. The 'three strikes” policy would no longer carry a term of life in prison, but a 25-year penalty.

The bill also adds mandatory penalties for those convicted of domestic abuse across state lines or supporting known terrorists.

It's a strong, bipartisan effort with a real chance of becoming law, making criminal justice more just.

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