Criminal justice reform is moving again at the federal level after more than a year of inertia and disappointment for advocates. Two key bills are being introduced in Congress this week.
Why this matters: These bills — while only the first step in a long process — mark the first serious congressional engagement on criminal justice reform for more than a year. Reformers lost all their momentum during brutal 2016 political season in which candidate Donald Trump elevated “tough on crime” politics at the expense of bipartisan efforts to reduce prison sentences for non-violent criminals.