The Senate passed The First Step Act on Tuesday, which includes the most substantial changes in a generation to the federal prison system and sentencing laws. It’s expected to pass in the House and to be signed by President Trump. It’s aimed at cases just like Fulton Washington, who was convicted of a non-violent drug crime in the ‘90s, and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. After decades behind bars, President Obama granted him clemency. We talked to Washington when a film about him came out earlier this year. We invited him back to discuss the bill’s potential impact.
Senate passes sweeping criminal justice bill -- what does a man who spent some 20 years in prison think of it?
Credits
Guests:
- Fulton Washington - Artist, and the subject of the documentary "Mr. Wash"
- Marianne LeVine - congressional reporter, Politico