The cool kids in public policy circles these days are all about “criminal justice reform.” Their most immediate cause célèbre is the passage of the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act of 2015 (S.2123) [my analysis on the old version can be viewed here]. While we’ve covered this issue from many angles in the past, I felt a need to summarize the basic problems with its entire premise, as well as the specific legislation that, barring an outcry from the public, will come to the House and Senate floors this spring.
Astoundingly, some Republicans are trying to make the case that this is really part of a conservative agenda. Here is a list of talking points from their playbook to allure conservatives into supporting this bill and the broader effort in regards to criminal justice “reform.”

















