Congress is an institution made up of pathological liars. If there are still a few members of the public who think otherwise, perhaps the political lies that went into selling Congress' new "prison reform law" will change the minds of those who believed in Congressional integrity.
In December 2018, Congress passed, and the President signed, the First Step Act into law. First Step stands for: The Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act. (Who comes up with this stuff?) According to the bill's sponsors, the goal of the First Step Act is to give deserving (italics mine) prisoners the opportunity to get a shortened sentence in return for "positive" behavior and job training. The federal statute also provides judges ways to override mandatory sentences.
The political hacks who appeared on national television to sell the proposed law assured viewers that the only candidates eligible for early release were inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses, prisoners incarcerated for crimes like theft, check forgery, bank embezzlement, stock fraud, minor drug offenses, and insider trading.
In less than a year following the passage of the First Step Act, 6,000 federal prisoners were released early. Contrary to what the politicians had promised, a large number of inmates who had been convicted of criminal homicide, major drug trafficking, aggravated assault, and sexual offenses were let out of prison with the others. Once again, members of Congress were caught lying through their teeth.
In 2005, a big time cocaine dealer from Providence, Rhode Island named Joel Francisco was convicted and sentenced to federal prison for life. The onetime leader of the violent street gang Latin Kings, had two previous convictions in state courts which qualified him for the mandatory life sentence.
In February 2019, a few weeks after his attorney petitioned a federal judge for early release under the First Step Act, Joel Francisco was back on the street.
In July 2019, while on federal probation, Francisco did what most violent ex-convicts do, he went back to a life of crime. In Providence, Francisco tried to break into his ex-girlfriend's house. Not long after that, he was charged with breaking and entering into a dwelling in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Although he had violated the terms of his federal probation, and should have been returned to prison, the federal authorities looked the other way.
On October 2, 2019, Joel Francisco stabbed 46-year-old Troy Pine at the Narra hookah lounge in Providence. (A hookah lounge is a commercial establishment where people gather to smoke flavored tobacco from large, glass bowl communal pipes with many stems.) Following a brief altercation with Mr. Pine, a man Francisco didn't know, he pulled a knife and stabbed him. The victim died later that night at a nearby hospital.
As of October 12, 2019, Francisco, charged with criminal homicide, was still at large. Had it not been for the First Step Act and all the political lying behind it, Troy Pine would be alive today.
In December 2018, Congress passed, and the President signed, the First Step Act into law. First Step stands for: The Formerly Incarcerated Reenter Society Transformed Safely Transitioning Every Person Act. (Who comes up with this stuff?) According to the bill's sponsors, the goal of the First Step Act is to give deserving (italics mine) prisoners the opportunity to get a shortened sentence in return for "positive" behavior and job training. The federal statute also provides judges ways to override mandatory sentences.
The political hacks who appeared on national television to sell the proposed law assured viewers that the only candidates eligible for early release were inmates convicted of nonviolent offenses, prisoners incarcerated for crimes like theft, check forgery, bank embezzlement, stock fraud, minor drug offenses, and insider trading.
In less than a year following the passage of the First Step Act, 6,000 federal prisoners were released early. Contrary to what the politicians had promised, a large number of inmates who had been convicted of criminal homicide, major drug trafficking, aggravated assault, and sexual offenses were let out of prison with the others. Once again, members of Congress were caught lying through their teeth.
In 2005, a big time cocaine dealer from Providence, Rhode Island named Joel Francisco was convicted and sentenced to federal prison for life. The onetime leader of the violent street gang Latin Kings, had two previous convictions in state courts which qualified him for the mandatory life sentence.
In February 2019, a few weeks after his attorney petitioned a federal judge for early release under the First Step Act, Joel Francisco was back on the street.
In July 2019, while on federal probation, Francisco did what most violent ex-convicts do, he went back to a life of crime. In Providence, Francisco tried to break into his ex-girlfriend's house. Not long after that, he was charged with breaking and entering into a dwelling in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. Although he had violated the terms of his federal probation, and should have been returned to prison, the federal authorities looked the other way.
On October 2, 2019, Joel Francisco stabbed 46-year-old Troy Pine at the Narra hookah lounge in Providence. (A hookah lounge is a commercial establishment where people gather to smoke flavored tobacco from large, glass bowl communal pipes with many stems.) Following a brief altercation with Mr. Pine, a man Francisco didn't know, he pulled a knife and stabbed him. The victim died later that night at a nearby hospital.
As of October 12, 2019, Francisco, charged with criminal homicide, was still at large. Had it not been for the First Step Act and all the political lying behind it, Troy Pine would be alive today.
Hooray for Donald Trump. Making America Great Again.
ReplyDelete