Ronald Simpson-Bey calls on President Biden to use his remaining time in office to fulfill promises on criminal justice reform

Ronald Simpson-Bey (Leading with Conviction™ 2015), JustLeadershipUSA’s Executive Vice President of Strategic Partnerships, writes:

“With the nation’s attention now riveted on U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris vs. former President Donald Trump, it might surprise some people to learn that Joe Biden is still the president of the United States until January 20, 2025. And, while he has arguably accomplished a lot already, he still has a lot of power and time to accomplish a lot more before his one term in the Oval Office comes to an end. We need him to focus on criminal justice reform and the promises he made when he was a candidate running for president in 2019.

With five months left to serve, President Biden now has an unprecedented opportunity to make good on some of his promises …

“When we look back on the past eight years, it is hard not to be struck by the glaring fact that, in his one term as president, Donald Trump’s passage of the First Step Act so far is outshining anything President Biden has done in his four years in office for criminal justice reform at the federal level.

“This isn’t to say Trump’s record on reform is stellar. In fact, it leaves much to be desired. But Biden’s record has so far not measured up to even the low bar that Trump set while in office. The good news for Biden is that he still has five months to make good on some of his promises.

“When Trump passed the First Step Act, our organization, JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), was one of the few justice organizations that opposed the legislation for a variety of reasons, but primarily because we knew that the risk assessment tool would have adverse effects, particularly on many Black and brown people—which is exactly what we have seen happen over the past six years, and was magnified during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“But the fact remains that more than 33,500 people have been released from prison so far due to the implementation of the First Step Act. This, combined with Trump’s 237 pardons and commutations, currently overshadows Biden’s meager 25 pardons and 132 commutations. Even when you consider Biden’s over 6,500 federal marijuana pardons, his record still pales in comparison with the tens of thousands who have been set free by Trump’s First Step.

“Freedom and liberty is one thing. Life and the pursuit of happiness are another. Because without a life to go home to, where a person’s basic human needs are met, freedom isn’t worth much—and it sometimes doesn’t last for very long. …

“With five months left to serve, President Biden now has an unprecedented opportunity to make good on some of his promises and add to his legacy as one of the most important and consequential presidents in U.S. history. The 70+ million Americans who have direct experience of the criminal legal system in this country will be watching and waiting, hoping for Biden to come through on a laundry list of demands, many of which he can do with the stroke of a pen.”

Read the full op-ed at CommonDreams.org.