"In far too many cases," Mr. Obama said, "the punishment simply doesn't fit the crime." He spoke in Philadelphia this week at a meeting of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP. The organization works in support of racial equality throughout the United States.
The president said the US jails as many people as the top 35 European nations combined. Currently, 2.2 million people are in held in US prisons. African-Americans and Latinos are jailed for non-violent drug crimes at much higher rates than other groups of people.
"Our criminal justice system isn't as smart as it should be," Mr. Obama said. "It's not keeping us safe as it should be. It is not as fair as it should be. Mass incarceration makes our country worse off."
In his speech, the president suggested either changing or removing laws that require courts to give jail sentences as punishment for non-violent drug crimes. He also said there should be more job training programs for people while they are in prison.
In addition, Mr. Obama announced that the Department of Justice would examine the use of ‘solitary confinement’ in US prisons. This is a method of punishment where prisoners are placed alone in small rooms for long periods. Studies have shown that solitary confinement can have damaging psychological effects on prisoners.
The president urged Congress to approve a sentencing reform bill by the end of the year. He admitted that many people need to be in prison, among them "murderers, predators, rapists [and] gang leaders." However, he said that in too many cases, those enforcing the law treat young blacks and Latino men differently than white Americans.
He said African Americans and Latinos received longer jail sentences than whites for similar crimes. "About one in every 35 African American men, and one out of every 88 Latino men, is [in prison] right now,"he added.
His speech came a day after he commuted the jail time of 46 federal prisoners. Their sentences were reduced or cancelled. Each of the prisoners was sent to jail for a non-violent drug crime. The president's action was part of his effort to reform the criminal justice system.
The 46 prisoners were in jail for crimes involving the drug crack-cocaine. The minimum time in prison for such crimes is much higher than for crimes related to regular cocaine. Most of the prisoners would already be free if they had been sent to prison today, the Obama administration said. Fourteen were serving life prison sentences.
"These men and women were not hard criminals," the president said. "I believe, at its heart, America is a nation of second chances, and I believe these [people] deserve their second chance."
The administration said Mr. Obama would be willing to commute more sentences in the coming months if the conditions were right. "The statistics cannot be ignored. We cannot close our eyes anymore," he said.
Words in This Story
mass incarceration – n. large numbers of people put in prison
sentence – n. the punishment given by a court of law
minimum – adj. least or lowest amount
psychological – adj. of or relating to the mind
predator – n. someone who wants to use, control, or harm other people in some way
gang – n. a group of people who take part in illegal activity
commute – v. to reduce or cancel a form of punishment
crack-cocaine – n. a processed form of the drug cocaine