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Dialogue: Sentencing Reform

In a well-intentioned move to curb drug crime, lawmakers in the 1980’s and 1990’s implemented a raft of legislation that required judges to impose mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes. Today, those laws are under scrutiny as jail populations have soared in a generation. Recently there has been bipartisan support of a bill that would reform many of these changes, and it seems to have tentative support from President Trump.

In this episode of Dialogue we’ll look at the push for sentencing reform – why it’s an issue, and who is involved, plus what can be done with a system that can be difficult to change. My guest this month is Molly Gill, Vice President of policy for Families Against Mandatory Minimums in Washington, D.C.