Congress may be wising up to the virtues of “smart justice,” and the wisdom is bipartisan. Senators and representatives from both parties are sponsoring bills that would roll back some of the overly punitive legislation of the 1970s and 1980s that has led to a more than fivefold increase in the federal prison population, and a more than tenfold cost to taxpayers. Corrections-related spending consumes one-third the U.S. Department of Justice budget. Liberals hate the senseless oversentencing, conservatives the prodigious costs. The shift in mindset is much like that occurring at the state and local levels, where it is fostering adoption of smart justice policies in Spokane and elsewhere/Spokesman-Review Editorial Board. More here.

Question: Do you support/oppose a change in sentencing guidelines to reduce prison populations?