Recently, the American Humanist Association joined over 400 signatories to express support for the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013. This bipartisan bill provides resources to state and local governments as well as community-based organizations to improve success rates for people released from prison and jail.
Read the letter below, and click here (PDF) to review all 414 signatories to the letter. Click here (PDF) to view an Second Chance Reauthorization Act factsheet.
April 15, 2014
The Honorable Patrick Leahy
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee
Dirksen Senate Office Building, SD-224
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Chuck Grassley
Ranking Member, Senate Judiciary Committee
Dirksen Senate Office Building, SD-152
Washington, DC 20510
The Honorable Bob Goodlatte
Chairman, House Judiciary Committee
Rayburn House Office Building, 2138
Washington, DC 20515
The Honorable John Conyers
Ranking Member, House Judiciary Committee
Rayburn House Office Building, 2142
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairmen Leahy and Goodlatte and Ranking Members Grassley and Conyers:
We write to express our support for S. 1690/H.R. 3465, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013. Our diverse organizations have come together because we represent constituencies working to increase public safety by improving reentry from prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities.
This bipartisan bill, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT) and Rob Portman (R-OH) and Congressmen Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI), Danny Davis (D-IL), Howard Coble (R-NC), Bobby Scott (D-VA), Spencer Bachus (R-AL), Marcia Fudge (D-OH) and Steve Chabot (R-OH), provides resources to state and local governments as well as community-based organizations to improve success rates for people released from prison and jail.
The Second Chance Act will provide crucial resources at a time when they are desperately needed. In 2009, federal and state prisons held over 1.6 million inmates—one in every 199 U.S. residents—and released 729,295 individuals back to their communities. More than 9 million individuals are released from jail each year. Unfortunately, most individuals face numerous challenges when returning to the community from prison or jail, and research indicates that over half are reincarcerated within three years of their release. Research confirms that comprehensive, coordinated services can help formerly incarcerated individuals find stable employment and housing, thereby reducing recidivism.
By providing the resources needed to coordinate reentry services and policies at the state and local levels, S. 1690/H.R. 3465 will ensure that the tax dollars spent on corrections do not simply fuel a revolving door in and out of prison. State and local governments around the country, as well as community and faith-based organizations, are in dire need of these resources to address prisoner reentry and recidivism reduction efforts in our communities.
Please support S. 1690/H.R. 3465, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act of 2013.
Sincerely,