i am

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harlem, usa
same-gender-loving contemporary descendant of enslaved africans. community activist, feminist, health educator, independent filmmaker, mentor, playwright, poet & spiritual being. featured at, in & on africana.com, afrikan poetry theatre, angel herald, bejata dot com, bet tonight with tavis smiley, blacklight online, black noir, brooklyn moon cafe, gmhc's barbershop, klmo-fm, lgbt community services center, longmoor productions, nuyorican poets cafe, our corner, poz, pulse, rolling out new york, rush arts gallery, saint veronica's church, schomburg center for research in black culture, sexplorations, the citizen, the new york times, the soundz bar, the trenton times, the village voice, upn news, uzuri, venus, vibe, wbai-fm, wnyc-fm & wqht-fm. volunteered with adodi, bailey house, inc., black men's xchange-new york, colorofchange.org, drug policy alliance, east harlem tutorial program, imagenation film & music festival, presente.org, save darfur coalition, the enough project, the osborne association, the sledge group & your black world. worked on films with maurice jamal & heather murphy. writing student of phil bertelsen & ed bullins. mjt975@msn.com.

Thursday, November 12, 2015

The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015

the sentencing reform and corrections act is a bipartisan, bicameral reform bill introduced in early october in congress. the legislation would take a number of steps forward to reduce harsh penalties which are costly to families and taxpayers. 

among other initiatives, the bill intends to expand the existing safety valve, and give judges enhanced discretion to exempt a substantial number of individuals convicted of non-violent drug offenses from harsh mandatory sentences.

the bill also seeks to make the fair sentencing act of 2010 - which scaled back the unfair sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine - retroactive to allow nearly 6,000 current prisoners to petition for sentence reductions; and provide sentence reduction incentives for prisoners who take part in rehabilitative programming. 

marc mauer, executive director of the sentencing project, calls the bill, "the most substantial criminal  justice reform legislation introduced since the inception of the 'touch on crime' movement." the sentencing project works for a fair and effective u.s. justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing policy, addressing unjust racial disparities and practices, and advocating for alternatives to incarceration.   




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