Politics, shootings undercut criminal justice overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) - Hopes for overhauling the nation's criminal justice system have faded in Congress this year, undercut by a rash of summer shootings involving police and the pressure of election-year politics.

Republicans, including Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas and Utah Sen. Mike Lee, had joined forces with Democrats in hopes of revising the 1980s and '90s-era federal "tough on crime" laws by reducing some mandatory sentences for low-level drug offenders and giving judges greater discretion in sentencing. The goal is to reduce overcrowding in the nation's prisons and save taxpayer dollars.

In 1980, the federal prison population was less than 25,000. Today, it is more than 200,000.

The bipartisan group encountered fierce opposition from some Republicans who argue that reform could lead to an increase in crime and pose a greater danger to law enforcement. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump hasn't commented on the pending legislation but has dubbed himself the "law-and-order candidate" for what he calls a country in crisis, with terrorism in cities and attacks on police.

With Republicans deeply divided, one man could break the legislative deadlock: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., who has not indicated whether he supports the effort or not. If inaction is telling, McConnell so far has declined to put the legislation to vote, suggesting he doesn't want a messy intraparty fight before the November election.

Unlike McConnell, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., strongly supports an overhaul and may bring up a bipartisan series of House bills in September to make small reductions in some mandatory sentences and boost rehabilitation programs.

An unusual coalition - President Barack Obama, the American Civil Liberties Union and the conservative Koch Industries - has said the system is broken and it supports changes. Obama hopes to sign a bill before he leaves office in January.

But Ryan and Obama have a tough job in winning over McConnell, who must deal with strong opponents such as Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and a handful of others in the Senate GOP caucus.

Supporters are also battling the calendar; Congress will only be in session a few weeks before Obama leaves office. Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton supports the effort, but if she wins it's unclear whether there would be momentum for the overhaul in her busy first year in office.

Cotton calls the Senate bill "a dangerous experiment in criminal leniency" that would let violent criminals out of prison.

Supporters say the legislation would do the opposite, making communities safer by focusing on rehabilitation and preserving more resources for police departments. Mark Holden, general counsel and senior vice president of Koch Industries, which has backed the Senate and House bills, said many states have successfully put similar reforms in place.

Proponents also argue that there's no direct connection between the overhaul and this summer's shootings of black men in Minneapolis and Baton Rouge - or the shooting of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge - since the measures would primarily deal with incarceration of low-level drug offenders and rehabilitation programs. Opponents counter that reducing mandatory minimum sentences could further endanger law enforcement.

"If you talk to actual officers on the street, almost all of them will tell you their job has gotten more dangerous," says John Walters of the Hudson Institute, who was drug czar under President George W. Bush.

Republicans who back the overhaul point to the support of several law enforcement groups and say they are working the grassroots of the party, bringing the message that changes could save billions of federal dollars and help criminals from returning to prison.

"There's no question that it's very hard to draw the lines on the conservative movement and where people are on this," says Republican Ken Cuccinelli, the former Virginia attorney general who is working with a group called Right on Crime.

At the heart of the Republican debate on the issue is a philosophical difference between advocates who say rehabilitation and shorter sentences could lower recidivism and opponents who say it will let criminals out and not do enough to stem crime. Advocates point to a dip in overall crime in the U.S., while opponents point to rising crime in some major cities.

The Senate bill was introduced last October, and Cornyn and other supporters revised it this spring to try and win over reluctant GOP colleagues. But Cornyn acknowledged in July that the House would have to move first on its legislation, which is similar but not identical to the Senate bill.

Some advocates are hoping that the legislation could be passed as part of the typical last-minute horse trading that happens in the "lame duck" session in between the election and the end of the year.

To get momentum, "we need a House vote in September, and we need a big House vote in September," says Holly Harris, of the advocacy group Justice Action Network.