Statement on U.S. Department of Justice Stakeholder Listening Session on First Step Act Implementation

On December 21, 2018, former President Donald Trump signed the First Step Act. The law has two overarching goals: corrections reforms aim to expand recidivism reduction programming to hasten people’s transfer from prison to community corrections; and sentencing reforms reduce extreme sentences for certain federal offenses. In the first two and a half years since the First Step Act’s passage, implementation has been problematic, and efforts to thoroughly evaluate progress are hindered by a lack of transparency by the Department of Justice.