L10.16.5 Prison Reform Act

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Prison Reform Act

Be it enacted

1.) It shall be the official policy of Lincoln to phase out any usage of private prisons by the year 2025.

2.) There shall be created in Lincoln a Parole Board of 15 NPCs who shall review applications from prisoners in Lincoln for supervised early release from prison, at the conclusion of 50% of the original sentence, based on the degree and sincerity of prisoner’s rehabilitation, and the circumstances of the prisoner’s conviction and incarceration.

3.) No new prisoners in Lincoln shall be transferred to private prisons.

3.) The total population of prisoners incarcerated in private prisons in Lincoln shall be counted. Starting in 2018 and continuing each year until December 31, 2025, the total population of prisoners incarcerated in private prisons in Lincoln shall be reduced by one/seventh of the 2018 population, until no prisoners remain incarcerated in private prisons.

4.) Reductions may occur through prisoner transfers to government-run prisons where the prisoner shall serve out the remainder of their sentence, or in the case of non-violent drug offenders, through approval by the Regional Parole Board for supervised early release. Transfer costs shall be paid by the Regional Justice Department or the State-level equivalent for Private State Prisons.

5.) $150 Million is hereby appropriated for the purpose of planning, constructing, or purchasing additional government prisons to relieve any overcrowding resulting from the phase-out of private prisons. Private prisons with existing contracts with the Regional or any State government, shall have the option to sell their facility to the other party at the tax assessed value.

6.) $5 Million is hereby appropriated for the purpose of providing each prison library in Lincoln internet subscription-based access to at least once commercial law reporter which has a Supreme Court approved citation style.

7.) Solitary Confinement of prisoners in Lincoln shall not be arbitrary or excessive. Solitary Confinement shall be limited to those prisoners who the warden declares pose a substantial likelihood of violence if not isolated. The warden shall be required to review such declaration after 6 months, considering all evidence.

8.) No prisoner shall be charged a fee for the reasonable use of tampons or toilet paper.

9.) Each prison shall annually publish a Rape Prevention Strategy, which shall contain the current policies the prison is undertaking to prevent prison rape.

10.) It shall be unlawful to carry a firearm onto the property of a prison, including firearms locked in a vehicle in an appurtenant, fenced-in parking lot, with the following exceptions:

a.) Law Enforcement Officers may leave their firearms in a locked vehicle, provided the firearm is in a separately locked container not visible from outside the vehicle.

b.) The National Guard during riots, when the Governor, in his or her judgment determines that such force is necessary under the circumstances.

11.) All prisoner X-Rays shall be digitized.

12. All current prisoners in Lincoln prisons shall have their immigration status verified and all future prisoners shall have their immigration status verified upon incarceration. Any prisoners found to be undocumented immigrants shall be reported to the Atlasian Department of Justice.

13.) The month of June is hereby declared Prison Guard appreciation month.

Author/Sponsor: Mike Wells

I open the floor for debate. The sponsor has 36 hours to argue in favor of this bill.

[Wells]

This is the bill I introduced and it was written by Mr. Reactionary for the Southern region and only lightly edited by me to make it compatible with Lincoln so I don't know why he's not listed as the or even an author.

Anyway, this bill does what I wanted to do in this office when I was elected, abolishing private prisons. It also decreases prison sentences in some ways, which was another thing I wanted. Basically, the reason behind this is generally that private prisons are bad places for prisoners. They are motivated by profit, which incentives them to use involuntary servitude (sad that my Constitutional Amendment failed), fill the prisons with more inmates even for really inconsequential and nonviolent offenses, and cut corners when it comes to sanitation and the like (this one is a bigger problem in private immigration detention centers though). The cost of this bill is also relatively cheap, and we'll save money too by not paying for private prisons, which are again motivated by profit, so who knows if we'll even lose money. (Let's ask the GM.)

The rest of the bill is all about treating prisoners with respect and I think we can all get behind that. The part about prison rape especially has my support, we need to reduce that and I think everyone can agree there.

The second to last section is the only one I don't agree with, I kept it in because I am interested in hearing the reasoning behind it and perhaps having a bit of actual debate in the Assembly. I must admit that I am personally uncomfortable with reporting the immigration status of detainees to the Atlasian Department of Justice. But it looks like our immigration policy with the Out of the Shadows Act is pretty liberal, so I'm not worried about deportations as much as I would be. I am still mildly concerned though, but also still interested in hearing the supporting argument.

[Mr. Reactionary]

Our reasoning for the immigration part is that since it applies to prisons (long term imprisonment) but not local jails or other minor correctional lockups, the persons it would likely affect are much less sympathetic. Our law doesnt apply to illegals in local jails temporarily for say being drunk in public or getting into a fights or stuff like that. Just crimes with much longer sentences and after the due process protections of a trial.

[Sirius_]

I wholeheartedly support this bill, and it has several admirable goals. I do think we could add some more rehabilitative reforms to this bill. I like the idea of giving prisoners a work schedule and payment for that job to get them used to a normal job. This helps transitioning. Could we also possibly add a clause banning life without parole?

[Sirius_]

I propose the following amendment:

Prison Reform Act

Be it enacted

1.) It shall be the official policy of Lincoln to phase out any usage of private prisons by the year 2025.

2.) There shall be created in Lincoln a Parole Board of 15 NPCs who shall review applications from prisoners in Lincoln for supervised early release from prison, at the conclusion of 50% of the original sentence, based on the degree and sincerity of prisoner’s rehabilitation, and the circumstances of the prisoner’s conviction and incarceration.

3.) No new prisoners in Lincoln shall be transferred to private prisons.

3.) The total population of prisoners incarcerated in private prisons in Lincoln shall be counted. Starting in 2018 and continuing each year until December 31, 2025, the total population of prisoners incarcerated in private prisons in Lincoln shall be reduced by one/seventh of the 2018 population, until no prisoners remain incarcerated in private prisons.

4.) Reductions may occur through prisoner transfers to government-run prisons where the prisoner shall serve out the remainder of their sentence, or in the case of non-violent drug offenders, through approval by the Regional Parole Board for supervised early release. Transfer costs shall be paid by the Regional Justice Department or the State-level equivalent for Private State Prisons.

5.) $150 Million is hereby appropriated for the purpose of planning, constructing, or purchasing additional government prisons to relieve any overcrowding resulting from the phase-out of private prisons. Private prisons with existing contracts with the Regional or any State government, shall have the option to sell their facility to the other party at the tax assessed value.

6.) $5 Million is hereby appropriated for the purpose of providing each prison library in Lincoln internet subscription-based access to at least once commercial law reporter which has a Supreme Court approved citation style.

7.) Solitary Confinement of prisoners in Lincoln shall not be arbitrary or excessive. Solitary Confinement shall be limited to those prisoners who the warden declares pose a substantial likelihood of violence if not isolated. The warden shall be required to review such declaration after 6 months, considering all evidence.

8.) No prisoner shall be charged a fee for the reasonable use of tampons or toilet paper.

9.) Each prison shall annually publish a Rape Prevention Strategy, which shall contain the current policies the prison is undertaking to prevent prison rape.

10.) It shall be unlawful to carry a firearm onto the property of a prison, including firearms locked in a vehicle in an appurtenant, fenced-in parking lot, with the following exceptions:

a.) Law Enforcement Officers may leave their firearms in a locked vehicle, provided the firearm is in a separately locked container not visible from outside the vehicle.

b.) The National Guard during riots, when the Governor, in his or her judgment determines that such force is necessary under the circumstances.

11.) All prisoner X-Rays shall be digitized.

12. All current prisoners in Lincoln prisons shall have their immigration status verified and all future prisoners shall have their immigration status verified upon incarceration. Any prisoners found to be undocumented immigrants shall be reported to the Atlasian Department of Justice.

13.) The month of June is hereby declared Prison Guard appreciation month.

14.) No criminal is to be sentenced to "Life Without Parole" or any other sentence resulting in life spent in prison without chance of release.

15.) Prison inmates are to be assigned a job that contributes to prison operations and a typical work schedule. Prisoners are to receive compensation for their jobs.

[Sirius_]

Is my amendment friendly?

[Wells]

Is my amendment friendly?

The amendment is friendly. I especially like the new part 15.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

We should probably specify how much compensation is given to prisoners but otherwise this bill looks good.

[Mr. Reactionary]

We should probably specify how much compensation is given to prisoners but otherwise this bill looks good.

Out of curiosity would the prisoners be required to pay restitution to their victims out of their prison work money?

[Pragmatic Conservative]

We should probably specify how much compensation is given to prisoners but otherwise this bill looks good.

Out of curiosity would the prisoners be required to pay restitution to their victims out of their prison work money?

I certainly would hope that is included.

[Sirius_]

I propose the following amendment:

Prison Reform Act

Be it enacted

1.) It shall be the official policy of Lincoln to phase out any usage of private prisons by the year 2025.

2.) There shall be created in Lincoln a Parole Board of 15 NPCs who shall review applications from prisoners in Lincoln for supervised early release from prison, at the conclusion of 50% of the original sentence, based on the degree and sincerity of prisoner’s rehabilitation, and the circumstances of the prisoner’s conviction and incarceration.

3.) No new prisoners in Lincoln shall be transferred to private prisons.

3.) The total population of prisoners incarcerated in private prisons in Lincoln shall be counted. Starting in 2018 and continuing each year until December 31, 2025, the total population of prisoners incarcerated in private prisons in Lincoln shall be reduced by one/seventh of the 2018 population, until no prisoners remain incarcerated in private prisons.

4.) Reductions may occur through prisoner transfers to government-run prisons where the prisoner shall serve out the remainder of their sentence, or in the case of non-violent drug offenders, through approval by the Regional Parole Board for supervised early release. Transfer costs shall be paid by the Regional Justice Department or the State-level equivalent for Private State Prisons.

5.) $150 Million is hereby appropriated for the purpose of planning, constructing, or purchasing additional government prisons to relieve any overcrowding resulting from the phase-out of private prisons. Private prisons with existing contracts with the Regional or any State government, shall have the option to sell their facility to the other party at the tax assessed value.

6.) $5 Million is hereby appropriated for the purpose of providing each prison library in Lincoln internet subscription-based access to at least once commercial law reporter which has a Supreme Court approved citation style.

7.) Solitary Confinement of prisoners in Lincoln shall not be arbitrary or excessive. Solitary Confinement shall be limited to those prisoners who the warden declares pose a substantial likelihood of violence if not isolated. The warden shall be required to review such declaration after 6 months, considering all evidence.

8.) No prisoner shall be charged a fee for the reasonable use of tampons or toilet paper.

9.) Each prison shall annually publish a Rape Prevention Strategy, which shall contain the current policies the prison is undertaking to prevent prison rape.

10.) It shall be unlawful to carry a firearm onto the property of a prison, including firearms locked in a vehicle in an appurtenant, fenced-in parking lot, with the following exceptions:

a.) Law Enforcement Officers may leave their firearms in a locked vehicle, provided the firearm is in a separately locked container not visible from outside the vehicle.

b.) The National Guard during riots, when the Governor, in his or her judgment determines that such force is necessary under the circumstances.

11.) All prisoner X-Rays shall be digitized.

12. All current prisoners in Lincoln prisons shall have their immigration status verified and all future prisoners shall have their immigration status verified upon incarceration. Any prisoners found to be undocumented immigrants shall be reported to the Atlasian Department of Justice.

13.) The month of June is hereby declared Prison Guard appreciation month.

14.) No criminal is to be sentenced to "Life Without Parole" or any other sentence resulting in life spent in prison without chance of release.

15.) Prison inmates are to be assigned a job that contributes to prison operations and a typical work schedule. Prisoners are to receive compensation of $6/hour for working, half of which is to be paid to the victims of the crime.

[Wells]

I think that's fine. This will cost the government money, however, so we may want to get on to releasing more prisoners soon, as was previously proposed.

[Sirius_]

I think that's fine. This will cost the government money, however, so we may want to get on to releasing more prisoners soon, as was previously proposed.

Agreed.

[Sirius_]

Is there anything else that we need to adress in this bill?

[Sirius_]

I motion to vote.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

I motion to vote.

Seconded.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Discord Logs of Debate on L10.16.5 Prison Reform Act

April 6, 2018

Ninja0428 - 04/06/2018
What would be fair compensation?

Lincoln's Next Senator (Wells) - 04/06/2018
Minimum wage, or probably a fraction of that.

Red Tory Indy (1184AZ) - 04/06/2018
Minimum wage but 50% should go to the victim and victims estate
Also can we talk about a maximum general sentence please

Ninja0428 - 04/06/2018
The problem is that minimum wage depends on local cost of living.

Lincoln's Next Senator (Wells) - 04/06/2018
Oh yeah then $4/hr
Change my mind
Also interesting idea AZ, I like it.

April 7, 2018

Red Tory Indy (1184AZ) - Last Saturday at 5:06 PM
Can we please add a provision stating police are held to the same standard as everyone else when it comes to excessive force
@Lincoln's Next Senator

April 12, 2018

Ninja0428 - Yesterday at 9:55 PM
@Lincoln's Next Senator I have proposed an amendment.

April 13, 2018

Ninja0428 - Today at 5:50 PM
@Admin Do you think we can vote on this now?

[Esteemed Jimmy]

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All assembly members please vote aye, nay, or abstain.

[Esteemed Jimmy]

Aye

[Sirius_]

Aye

[Wells]

Aye

[Esteemed Jimmy]

By a vote of 3-0-0, this bill passes and will be sent to the governor.

[Pragmatic Conservative]

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X1184AZ
All assembly members please vote aye, nay, or abstain.