Dear Colleague:
Over the past two decades, tensions between police and communities of color have grown as allegations of police brutality and racial profiling by law enforcement agents have increased in number and frequency. The tragic police-involved shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri and the local police department's response to the protests are just the latest examples of the challenges faced in reforming police practices.
As President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder begin to act on recommendations of an administration review of federal programs and funding that provide military equipment to local law enforcement agencies; and discussions begin on how communities and law enforcement can work together to build trust to strengthen neighborhoods across the country, Reps.
DETROIT – House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. released the following statement after the announcement of the grand jury's decision not to indict Ferguson, MO police officer Darren Wilson:
"Though the judicial process was fully exercised in this case, I am disappointed in the grand jury's decision not to indict police officer Darren Wilson for the shooting of Michael Brown, an unarmed, African-American 18 -year-old. This result underscores the legal hurdles faced in holding the police accountable for abuse of authority and further illustrates the need for major reform in our criminal justice system.
Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (MI-13) applauded the enactment of the "Debbie Smith Reauthorization Act of 2014" (H.R. 4323), which President Obama signed into law yesterday. This law authorizes funding of nearly $194 million for each of Fiscal Years 2015-2019 for the Department of Justice to administer various grants, including the Debbie Smith DNA Backlog Grant Program, to assist state and local law enforcement agencies in solving rape and other violent crimes.
The House of Representatives today approved by a vote of 302-121 the USA Freedom Act (H.R. 3361), a bipartisan bill authored by Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Subcommittee Chairman Jim Sensenbrenner (R-Wisc.) that ends bulk collection of data by the government and reforms our nation's intelligence-gathering programs operated under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
Today, Department of Justice Deputy Attorney General James M. Cole announced six criteria the Department of Justice will consider when reviewing and expediting clemency applications – for President Obama's review and approval – from a select group of non-violent individuals behind bars. These petitions will be prioritized for review over other clemency petitions that do not require all six criteria.
Today, U.S. House Judiciary Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) reintroduced the "Democracy Restoration Act of 2014." This legislation would reinstate the right to vote in federal elections for millions of Americans with a past conviction who are currently out of prison. In the United States today, there are more than 5.8 million individuals who are ineligible to vote due to a felony conviction, yet nearly 4 million of those citizens are no longer in prison and almost 3 million disenfranchised individuals have completed their entire sentence. After the legislation was introduced, Representative Conyers issued the following statement:
Today, Representative John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.), ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, and Representative Eliot L. Engel (D-N.Y.), ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, led an 82 member letter to President Barack Obama urging him to renew enforcement of the ban on imported military-style firearms that was previously enforced during the H.W. Bush and Clinton administrations. Enforcing this ban would serve the dual purpose of improving public safety in the U.S. and reducing drug-related violence in Mexico, where there have been approximately 70,000 organized-crime related deaths since December 2006.
Today, the Over-Criminalization Task Force, a bipartisan working group convened by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee to consider reforms to the criminal justice system, held a hearing entitled "Criminal Code Reform." After delivering his opening remarks, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:
(DETROIT) – On Friday, the Obama administration announced two executive actions to strengthen the federal firearms background check system. The Department of Justice (DOJ) is issuing a proposed rule to clarify terminology used in prohibiting firearms purchases on the basis of certain mental health reasons. In addition, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing a proposed rule to remove barriers in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that have hindered the ability of states to submit certain information concerning mental health conditions to the background check system. In response to the news, Congressman John Conyers, Jr.
(DETROIT) – Today, President Obama commuted the sentences of eight federal inmates serving lengthy time behind bars for nonviolent offenses related to crack cocaine under an older sentencing regime. This decision follows the implementation in 2011 of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, landmark criminal justice legislation that reduced mandatory minimum sentences for crack offenses and minimized the arbitrary disparity between crack and powder cocaine. Ranking member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Robert C.
(DETROIT) – Today, ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Senator Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights, and Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (D-Md.), along with Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Congressman Bobby Scott (D-Va.), Congresswoman Marcia Fudge (D-Ohio), and Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.), sent a letter to U.S.
Today, the U.S. House Judiciary Committee Overcriminalization Task Force held a hearing entitled, "Regulatory Crime: Solutions." At the hearing, Mr. John S. Baker, Jr., Ph.D. - a visiting professor at Georgetown Law School - and Mr. Lucian E. Dervan - an assistant professor at Southern Illinois University School of Law - testified, advocating for a rethink in the United States' criminal justice system. After the task force hearing, Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:
Today, House Judiciary Committee Ranking Member John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security, and Investigations Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner, Jr. (R-Wisc.), Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet Chairman Howard Coble (R-N.C.), and Congressman Danny K. Davis (D-Ill.) introduced H.R. 3465, the Second Chance Reauthorization Act. The Second Chance Act was passed by Congress with strong bipartisan support and signed into law by President George W. Bush in 2008.
Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.), Ranking Member of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, and Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) wrote a letter to Congressman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.), Chairman of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, requesting a hearing on the unresolved case of Alex Odeh, who was murdered in 1985. The U.S. House Judiciary Subcommittee on Criminal Justice originally held a hearing on this matter in 1986.
The full text of this letter can be found below:
November 6, 2013
Today, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) joined Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.); Warren David, president of the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee (ADC); Ben Jealous, president and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People; and Rebecca Vilkomerson, executive director of the Jewish Voice for Peace, in calling for the Department of Justice to bring resolve to the case surrounding the death of human rights advocate, Alex Odeh. 28-years ago this month, an explosion at the Southern California Regional Office for ADC killed Mr. Odeh and injured seven other individuals.
Today, all of the Democratic members of the U.S. House Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Va.) calling for hearings on gun violence. A copy of this letter is attached and the body of the message can be found below: ---
September 20, 2013
Chairman Bob Goodlatte
House Judiciary Committee
2138 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chairman Goodlatte:
(DETROIT) – Today, a federal judge ruled in the case of Floyd v. City of New York that the city's "stop and frisk" policy is unconstitutional. After this ruling, Congressman John Conyers, Jr. (D-Mich.) issued the following statement:
"Today's federal court decision striking down New York's stop-and-frisk policy is a victory for individual liberty and equal justice under the law.