In Newark, Obama Calls For Breaking Cycle Of Incarceration
NEWARK, N.J. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- President Barack Obama visited a drug treatment center in Newark on Monday as he continues to push for overhauling the criminal justice system.
Obama is calling for a break in the cycle of incarceration by helping former inmates successfully re-enter society.
During his visit, Obama met Daquawn Rosario, who served a 10-year drug sentence and was helped by a program run by the U.S. Attorney in Newark.
"Today he is an EMT in Essex County," Obama said. "Instead of peddling drugs that are destroying lives, he is saving lives."
The President committed more money for programs to help former inmates to get emotional and financial support, as well as job training. Obama also made a stand to 'ban the box' - a movement to make sure federal agencies don't ask job applicants if they have been incarcerated, WCBS 880's Marla Diamond reported.
"Just got to give people a chance," Rosario said. "If they don't get a chance then they can't prove themselves to be right or wrong."
After visitng former prison inmates, Obama sat down with criminal justice experts and local leaders to discuss reforming the prison system, 1010 WINS' Steve Kastenbaum reported.
"We incarcerate people at a rate that is unequal around the world," Obama said.
Obama announced that his Administration is establishing new grants to help returning citizens adjust to life after prison with resources including education, job training, housing, as well as legal, health and child services.
In rare bipartisan fashion, Congress is considering legislation cutting sentences for nonviolent drug offenders, but Obama will seek to force attention to the plight offenders face once they're finally set free.
"Everyone has a role to play, from businesses that are hiring ex-offenders to philanthropies that are supporting education and training programs,'' Obama said in his weekly address.
State Sen. Ray Lesniak, D-Elizabeth, said New Jersey leads the nation in the effort, having eliminated mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders and helping those who have served their sentences re-enter the work force.
"An ex-offender with the doors to employment slammed in his or her face is not going to be an ex-offender for long. They're going to be repeat offenders," Lesniak said.
Without new laws, Obama is limited in what he can do. For example, Obama has asked Congress to "ban the box'' -- shorthand for prohibiting the government and its contractors for asking job applicants about criminal histories on applications.
It's an issue resonating in the Democratic presidential primary, with Hillary Rodham Clinton, Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley all supporting steps to help those convicted of crimes find employment.
Using his own authority where possible, Obama will announce he's asking the government personnel office to wait until later in the hiring process to ask about criminal histories, a step most federal agencies have already taken, the White House said. The Obama administration will also clarify its "one strike'' rule that prevents many people with arrest records from living in public housing.
At Integrity House, a state-funded drug and residential treatment center, Obama was to be joined by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
At Integrity House, a state-funded drug and residential treatment center, Obama was to be joined by Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Newark Mayor Ras Baraka.
"Integrity House is one of the best proven programs we have, not just in the State of New Jersey, but in our nation for helping people get access to quality treatment as well as other services that help them get a job and get their lives back together," Booker told 1010 WINS.
Obama's focus on the previously incarcerated comes as more than 4,300 inmates are being released at the start of November, in what will likely be tens of thousands to benefit from drug sentencing changes last year.
"We now know people who have access to education and training and skills for jobs have a much lower recidivism rate," he told WCBS 880.
Joe Lupino Esposito, a policy analyst with the conservative group Right On Crime, said sentencing can't be one-size-fits-all.
"There needs to be some sort of system that includes a risk assessment, where between prosecutors and judges and maybe even victims can be involved, to determine what is the most appropriate sentence," he told WCBS 880's Ginny Kosola.
Obama also planned to host a roundtable and deliver a statement at Rutgers University's law school.
Aiming to seize some of Obama's limelight, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie planned his own events Monday on community policing and criminal justice in Camden.
Christie, who is struggling to attract attention for his presidential campaign, began the morning criticizing Obama in television interviews for coming to his state to "take credit for something he has nothing to do with.''
"He has not done anything on criminal justice reform in seven years as president,'' Christie said on Fox News, accusing Obama of inadequately supporting law enforcement.
The White House accused Christie of trying to use the issue to boost his visibility.
His comments are "not surprising for somebody whose poll numbers are close to an asterisk,'' White House spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters. "Clearly this is part of the strategy to turn that around. We'll see if it works.''
The president will later head to Manhattan for DNC and congressional campaign committee events.
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