FIRST STEP Act: another report against it

This blog has posted several links concerning the FIRST STEP legislation on criminal justice reform.  In particular, I noted that two conservative columnists who are both strong supporters of legal immigration and law enforcement nevertheless disagree on the merits of this bill. Michelle Malkin supports it. Ann Coulter opposes it.

Now Matthew Boyle at Breitbart reports:

A Republican U.S. Senate document circulating among GOP offices opposed to the so-called FIRST STEP Act, a criminal justice reform bill making its way through Capitol Hill, lists 20 violent crimes that would be eligible for early release under the legislation.

. . .

The letter goes on to list the 20 violent crimes that would be eligible for early release under the bill:

1. Trafficking cocaine or methamphetamines, even if convicted as a kingpin (18 U.S.C § 841(b)
2. Strangling a spouse or an intimate partner (18 U.S.C. §113(a)(8)
3. Trafficking fentanyl, except in rare cases (18 U.S.C. § 841(b))
4. Providing or possessing contraband, including firearms, in prison (18 U.S.C. § 1791)
5. Felonies committed while in a criminal street gang (18 U.S.C. § 521)
6. Escape of prisoners (18 U.S.C. § 751)
7. Rioting in a correctional facility (18 U.S.C. § 1792)
8. Importing aliens for prostitution (18 U.S.C. § 1328)
9. Assault with intent to commit rape or sexual abuse (18 U.S.C. § 3559(c)(2)(F))
10. Threatening to murder a congressman, senator, or government official (18 U.S.C. § 115(a)(1)
11. Drug-related robberies involving assault with a dangerous weapon (18 U.S.C. § 2118(c)(1)
12. Violent carjacking resulting in serious bodily injury (18 U.S.C. § 2119(2))
13. Stealing immigration documents for the purpose of keeping an immigrant in slavery (18 U.S.C. § 1592)
14. Attempt or conspiracy to engage in human smuggling (18 U.S.C. § 1592)
15. Failing to register as a sex offender (18 U.S.C. § 2250)
16. Arson (18 U.S.C. § 81)       
17. Blackmail (18 U.S.C. § 873)
18. Domestic assault by an habitual offender (18 U.S.C. § 117)
19. Hate crimes (18 U.S.C. § 249)
20. Assaulting a law enforcement officer with a deadly weapon (18 U.S.C. § 111(b))

At that point, the GOP senate document lists a series of questions for proponents of the bill:

1. Would you consider these low-level or non-violent crimes?
2. How can we trust the BOP to correctly categorize who is high vs. low risk?
3. If the reasons these are not on the list is because they are obscure crimes, why is drug trafficking – the single most common offense – missing?
4. Why are obscure violations of the Atomic Energy Code on the exclusion list but not these crimes?
5. If you added provisions to the bill that Senator Booker and Democrats wanted, why won’t you add more violent crimes to the ‘exclusion from early release’ list that Republicans want?
6. Why have an exclusion list in the first place if these crimes are missing from it?
7. Can you promise that no offender who commits these crimes will ever be released early?
8. How many offenders are in prison for each of these crimes and how many will be eligible to be released into my home state?

The full report is here. There are questions about the source of the document, but if it’s reliable, it’s a frightening prospect. If you go to the Breitbart page, take a look at some of the reader comments.

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