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Wilmington -- Vivian Houghton, Green Party
candidate for the office of Delaware Attorney General, today added her
voice to those calling for the General Assembly to pass HB 436. Designed
to restore sentencing discretion to judges in some drug cases and to
encourage the use of substance abuse treatment, education and job skills
development in the rehabilitation of inmates, the bill is expected to be
voted on in the House later this week.
Houghton, a Wilmington Attorney, points out that the bill is endorsed by
Stand Up for What's Right and Just, the Delaware Alliance for
Restorative Justice, the AFL-CIO, the NAACP and a dozen other community
forces. "The overwhelming support for the bill demonstrates how
Delawareans believe the justice system should serve to restore
communities, victims and offenders. Due to mandatory minimum sentencing
and the criminalization of substance abuse, our prisons are grossly
over-crowded, understaffed and are ineffective in deterring crime,"
said Houghton. "Instead of concentrating millions of taxpayer
dollars on putting minor, non-violent offenders in jail, I would refocus
the energy and resources of the Attorney General's office in supporting
proven programs of rehabilitation, drug treatment, community policing,
restorative justice, and victim services to achieve real crime reduction
in Delaware."
According to the Delaware Sentencing Accountability Commission (SENTAC)
report issued last week, offenders with extensive felony records are
having a felony re-arrest rate as low as 30% two years after release,
much lower than the 40% rate for the entire offender population. CREST,
Brandywine Counseling, and the Center for Pastoral Care are examples of
successful substance abuse rehabilitation programs working with the
prison population.
Last year, led by members Desmond Kahn and Phillip Bannowsky, the Green
Party of Delaware endorsed efforts to end mandatory minimum sentencing
such as those embodied in HB 436 and collected hundreds of petition
signatures. Says Bannowsky, "Jane Brady could do herself a favor by
supporting HB 436. Her counterproposals to HB 436 last month are too
costly, they don't work, and the people no longer support them. Vivian
Houghton's endorsement squares with both current opinion and wise policy
on criminal justice."
Houghton challenged her Democratic rival for the Attorney General's
office over the issue. "We call upon Carl Schnee and his fellow
Democrats to stop Democratic Senate President Pro-Tem Tom Sharp from
conniving with Republican Jane Brady to bury HB 436." Sharp and
Brady have both been stubborn proponents of rigid sentencing policies,
and Sharp may try to barricade HB 436 in committee after it leaves the
House for the Senate.² Houghton added, "A hugely disproportionate
number of those imprisoned for drug offenses are people of color and the
poor. I hope every Delaware citizen will call their representatives
today and demand that they support HB 436. This bill will begin the
process of putting our criminal justice system back on track and will
put people first instead of the interests of political boondoggles and
the prison industry.
Houghton will formally kick-off her campaign to become Delaware¹s next
Attorney General Monday, April 29th, in a series of state-wide campaign
stops.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Contacts:
Bob Bohm, Coordinator Committee to Elect Vivian Houghton Attorney
General 239-2572 rebsalerno@msn.com
J. Roy Cannon Committee to Elect Vivian Houghton Attorney General
303.738.9963 jcannon11@comcast.net
The Committee to Elect Vivian Houghton Attorney General
agcandidate@vivianhoughton.com
www.vivianhoughton.com/vivian
656-0518
The Green Party of Delaware
gpde_greenrep2001@yahoo.com
www.gpde.org
(303) 738-9963
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