Sensible Legislation to Repeal the United States Trust and Sentencing Laws

WHEREAS, the NAACP supports approval, directives and permission to activate legal and political committees throughout the United States to eradicate the unfair Truth and Sentencing Laws; and

WHEREAS, in 1994, the U.S. Congress passed Truth and Sentencing laws (Title 42 U.S.C. Section 13701 and Section 13702) making grants available to state governments to construct, develop, expand, modify, operate or improve correctional facilities ... for confinement of violent offenders ... and to implement truth in sentencing laws for violent offenders, specifically, but none the less limited to, requiring first time violent offenders to serve not less than 85% of the sentence imposed and increasing the average prison time and percentage of sentence which will be served by violent offenders; and

WHEREAS, those money driven corporate investors and politicians work collectively forming malicious schemes, that systematically warehouse thousands of prisoners for the sole purpose of economic and capital gain at the expense of taxpayers hard earned dollars; and

WHEREAS, the past wave of prison-building in the United States has transformed the parole board(s) decision-making from risk to society to economic consideration; and

WHEREAS, Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy states, "our resources are misspent, our punishments are too severe, our sentences are too long"; and

WHEREAS, the United States of America shamefully leads the world in the number of human-beings that are imprisoned.

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the NAACP, on principle, decries the United States Truth and Sentencing Laws as unfair and tyrannical and to adopt a nationwide strategy to change the misconception of the criminal justice system; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP encourage media coverage which emphasizes the positive achievements of prisoners and encourage parole release consideration; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP urge the media to publicize the contributions to various community organizations by prisoners so as their support for community programs; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the NAACP will inform the public to contact their legislator and voice their opposition to stop the costly construction and operation of prison industrial complexes, for the purpose of improving economic conditions in depressed rural communities at the expense of taxpayers' money and human lives; and

BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the NAACP encourage and endorse a plan of action that promotes legislation repealing arbitrary, discriminatory, racial and unfair Truth and Sentencing Laws.