U.S. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) visited Federal Correctional Insitution Fairton in Fairton, New Jersey, earlier today to tour the facility and speak with inmates in the Residential Drug Abuse Program (RDAP), Vocational Training Program, and the Restrictive Housing sections of the prison.
Images from the visit can be downloaded at the following link: http://bit.ly/2aB5PRv
“Our criminal justice system is broken and needs to be fixed,” said Sen. Booker. “Warehousing so many nonviolent, low-level drug offenders in our federal prisons is a waste of taxpayer dollars and human potential, and isn’t making us any safer. Seeing a federal prison firsthand and meeting with officers and inmates was an experience that reinforced to me the urgent need to reform a system that puts costly confinement before rehabilitation, fairness, and common sense.”
Since arriving in the Senate in 2013, Sen. Booker has worked with colleagues on both sides of the aisle on reforms that address all aspects of the American criminal justice system. From working on legislation to reduce recidivism and address juvenile solitary confinement, to addressing the school to prison pipeline, to fixing federal sentencing laws for non-violent offenders and addressing the national indigent defense crisis, Senator Booker has been a leader in the U.S. Senate in reforming our nation’s criminal justice system.
In 2015, Sen. Booker joined a bipartisan group of senators in introducing comprehensive legislation aimed at recalibrating prison sentences for certain drug offenders, targeting violent criminals, and granting judges greater discretion at sentencing for lower-level drug crimes. The package also seeks to curb recidivism by helping prisoners successfully re-enter society. In October 2015, the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 was passed by the Senate Judiciary Committee.
Earlier this year, the bipartisan bill was updated and received the support of 37 Senators. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act enjoys support from over 400 groups and organizations, including a diverse array of civil rights, faith and law enforcement organizations, as well as groups from across the political spectrum.
Sen. Booker has spoken out on the Senate floor repeatedly on the need to reform our broken justice system, most recently in July of this year.
Sen. Booker’s 2016 Jersey Summer Road Trip, which began on August 3rd and concludes on August 10th, will focus on his efforts to stand up for New Jersey’s veterans, protect the long-term growth and viability of New Jersey’s military bases, reform our nation’s broken criminal justice system, boost investments in technology and innovation, strengthen local businesses and create jobs, and ensure our coastline is more resilient following Hurricane Sandy’s devastation.
