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What You Need To Know About The First Step Act

November 20, 2018

I’m writing to to share the concerns of JustLeadershipUSA, and key national partner organizations regarding the First Step Act.

Despite recent revisions, many of them good, thanks to the leadership of our sisters at the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, JLUSA remains in qualified opposition to the First Step Act. Our mission is to cut the U.S. correctional population in #halfby2030. While the First Step Act brings home many of our loved ones, and contains good policies including unshackling of pregnant women, earned credits, and sentencing reform – the bill does not address or seek to undo structural racism; instead it re-entrenches it and sets a precedent in creating more harm by the implementation of risk assessment tools that demonstrate biases toward Black and brown defendants.

I urge you to read our full statement and our policy brief which, together, outline our urgent concerns with this legislation, the consequences for our families and communities, as well as our proposed alterations.

I hope you will join us in fighting for justice toward our mission of cutting the US correctional population in #halfby2030 and empowering the people most affected by incarceration to drive policy reform in ways that are fully informed.

Dear JLUSA.org Blog Reader, 

In our 10th anniversary year, JustLeadershipUSA’s work of educating, elevating, and empowering justice-impacted leaders continues and is growing even stronger!

This is going to be a very special time to look back on the past decade of JLUSA’s important work, the 1,600+ leaders we have helped get to the next level in their work, and even more importantly, we will look ahead to the next 10 years and beyond!

We can’t do this without you. We need your support to help us continue to do this work now and into the future. By making a donation in honor of JLUSA’s 10th anniversary year, you are saying to the amazing leaders in our network who represent the 70+ million Americans who have been directly impacted by the criminal legal system, “I see you, and I support you!”

Please give a one-time $100 gift or set up a recurring $10 monthly donation to celebrate JLUSA’s 10th anniversary year, and together we will build a fair and just U.S. Thank you!

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