One would exclude more prisoners from participating in educational and training programs that allows them to earn credits
WASHINGTON — Critics of a criminal justice bill backed by President Donald Trump are making a final push to amend the legislation in a way that would likely kill its prospects.
The bill gives judges more discretion when sentencing some drug offenders and boosts prisoner rehabilitation efforts. It also reduces the life sentence for some drug offenders with three convictions, or “three strikes,” to 25 years.
The Senate turned its attention Tuesday to three amendments from Republican senators Tom Cotton of Arkansas and John Kennedy of Louisiana. One would exclude more prisoners from participating in educational and training programs that allows them to earn credits. Those credits can then be used to gain an earlier release to a halfway house or home confinement to finish out their sentence.
Another amendment would require that victims be notified before a prisoner gets that earlier release.
