Cohen: MLK's "Fierce Urgency of Now" Demands President Obama Act Now to Reduce Racial Disparities in Our Justice System

Press Release

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the historic March on Washington which led to the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act, Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-09) today called on President Obama to heed the "fierce urgency of now" and take immediate steps to reduce unfair racial disparities in our judicial system, cut prison overcrowding, reduce the deficit, and further the cause of justice.

"As he reminded the nation of the "fierce urgency of now' from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial fifty years ago, Dr. King inspired a generation of Americans "to make justice ring out for all of God's children,'" said Congressman Cohen. "The people serving unjust, cruelly lengthy, and outright wrong sentences know all too well the fierce urgency of now. I hope the President will heed Dr. King's reminder and act on their behalf as soon as possible--right now."

While the Obama Administration has made important moves to reduce racial disparities, including a recent change to Department of Justice prosecution policies that Congressman Cohen has for years been calling for, the President has several other powers at his disposal--like pardons and commutations--that, in addition to quickly bringing needed justice to thousands of people incarcerated under outdated and unfair mandatory minimum sentences, cannot be blocked by an obstructionist Congress.

Congressman Cohen's remarks as prepared for delivery follow:

The Fierce Urgency of Now: Reducing Racial Inequality in Our Justice System

Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09)

August 27, 2013

Thank you very much for being here today.

As we prepare for the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington tomorrow, we would all be well served to remember the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

From the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on August 28th, 1963, Dr. King inspired a generation of Americans "to make justice ring out for all of God's children." He told us he had come to our capital "to remind America of the fierce urgency of now."

And, at the time, America heeded his words: less than two years later, both the Civil Rights Act and the Voting Rights Act were the law of the land, each having been passed through Congress and signed into law by President Lyndon Johnson.

I stand before you today, however, because--sadly--over the past 5 decades, the fierce urgency that Dr. King spoke of appears to have faded.

Justice seems too far away for too many.

For all the strides towards binding up the wounds of racial injustice and important steps towards greater equality that we have made as a society, there remain thousands--disproportionately low-income minorities and people of color--whose liberty has been taken from them through unjust and unequally applied mandatory minimum sentences for low-level, non-violent drug offenses.

Today, I am calling on President Obama to do more to deliver those individuals the justice they deserve. The fierce urgency of now demands that the President commute the sentences of those who would not still be incarcerated if convicted of their crimes today.

Doing so is not a novel idea. While the President has so far used his pardon and commutation power far less than many of his predecessors, his Administration has taken important steps that show a desire to resolve these basic injustices.

Attorney General Eric Holder's recent overhaul of the Department of Justice's draconian prosecution policies that regularly resulted in excessively long mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders is one of those steps.

We need smarter, more just approaches like Attorney General Holder's as we continue to reduce the racial disparities of our current system.

The three-year-old Fair Sentencing Act was a rare time in history when Congress reduced sentences thereby enunciating a sharp turn in public policy.

After being signed by President Obama, the law now ensures that those arrested with crack--mostly young, African American men--are no longer subject to a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity compared to those arrested with essentially the same drug in powder form, who are more likely to be Caucasian. But the law is not retroactive.

So while the nation's views on drug policy are rapidly changing, countless prisoners sentenced prior to 2013 remain locked up, serving sentences that no longer align with our national values.

Both Congress and Attorney General Holder have shifted public policy for the future to better reflect our priorities, but--for those still spending every day in a prison cell--now only the President can correct the injustices of the past.

If, as Dr. King wrote, "justice too long delayed is justice denied," then every day they continue to sit in prison serving sentences that policymakers--and the American people--believe no longer fit their crime is another day that justice is denied.

I continue to call on President Obama to use his commutation power to correct these injustices today.

When it comes to addressing the inherent racial injustice of our nation's drug policy, the American people are now ahead of their leaders in Washington.

A recent ACLU report revealed that despite using marijuana at the same rate as Caucasians, African-Americans were arrested for marijuana at a rate four times higher than whites. And a recent poll shows that 52% of Americans now support legalization of marijuana.

With opposition to the failed policies of criminalization and prohibition growing every day, Congress should immediately act to catch up with the American people. In the interim, the President should not let anyone suffer one more day for the mistakes of outdated policy. He should be guided by the fierce urgency of now.

I want to be clear on another front: for as important as this is from a justice perspective, it is just as important from an economic perspective.

Reducing prison overcrowding by commuting excessively long sentences is the fiscally prudent path, especially in the face of sequestration.

We spend an estimated $30,000 per year to house each and every inmate in a federal prison. Keeping Americans locked up when they would not be under current law is, put simply, a foolish waste of money.

With across-the-board cuts being felt in every corner of the country, that money could undoubtedly be better spent.

The National Institutes of Health, our nation's true Department of Defense, faces cuts of $1.6 billion that will stop research into potentially life-saving cures.

57,000 fewer children will be enrolled in Head Start programs this year, reducing their chances of success.

Instead of preventing or reducing the impact of these cuts, our increasingly limited resources are spent incarcerating people who no longer pose a danger to society and have already served long sentences.

In some cases, we are incarcerating Americans who are now elderly or incapacitated. I am glad that one of the steps this Administration has taken is a stronger program of compassionate release for those elderly prisoners.

But there is more that the President can--and should--do, because nowhere is the urgency of now more fierce than for people who have repaid their debt to society and pose little danger of recidivism as they enter the waning days of their life.

Commutation of non-violent offenders is a significant step the President can take immediately--and it is one of the few on offer that cannot be obstructed by the Tea Party.

But he has until now chosen to use the power sparingly.

This may be--in part--because the Department of Justice official responsible for reviewing applications and making recommendations to the President is a holdover from the previous Administration who has been admonished by the DOJ's Inspector General for withholding and misrepresenting information.

The President should not rely on untrustworthy or biased information to make these important, life-changing decisions.

It is past time to reinvigorate the Pardon office with new leadership -- with someone highly respected in the legal community who would see the position as an opportunity to deliver justice to those who deserve it, not one whose mission appears to be keeping people in prison unnecessarily.

And the President should also establish a board to undertake a systematic review of non-violent offenders and recommend worthy candidates for commutations.

If Congress has determined that countless sentences are unjust, the President should not hesitate to use his pardon and commutation power, as past Presidents have, to resolve these broad injustices.

Drug policy reform has not always been politically popular.

At many points in past decades, I have found it a lonely pursuit, but today it is an issue that unites the left and the right.

Americans of all political persuasions are coming out of the woodwork.

As a nation, we are beginning to recognize how misguided policies prop up injustice and waste our dwindling resources.

It's time for the President to take the next step and right these wrongs.

The people serving unjust, cruelly lengthy, and outright wrong sentences know all too well the fierce urgency of now.

I hope the President will heed Dr. King's reminder and act on their behalf as soon as possible--right now.

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