Judge Bright gives shout out to Second Chance Act
Concurring today in US v. Wessels, No. 07-3208 (8th Cir. Aug. 27, 2008) (available here), Judge Bright gives a little attention to the Second Chance Act. Here are snippets from his opinion:
I concur in the opinion in this case but I write separately to call attention to the Second Chance Act of 2007. Pub. L. No. 110-199, 122 Stat. 657 (April 9, 2008). In this Act, the Congress has directed a shift from policing those on parole to rehabilitating them. The parole system now bears an increasing special obligation to help federal offenders successfully reenter into society.
Any time a person serves a prison sentence, begins parole or supervised release, and then, as in this case, violates a provision of release that may justify reimprisonment, the correctional system has failed. In making this statement, I do not mean to comment adversely on probation officers. I do, however, call attention to this new wind that is refreshingly blowing into the correctional systems in this country.
Title II(C)(1) of the Second Chance Act aims to improve the reentry of federal offenders into society with the help of probation officers….
It is clear that the spirit of the Second Chance Act of 2007 intends that the entire penal systems, state and federal, work towards the rehabilitation of prisoners for the purpose of reducing recidivism….
The Second Chance Act of 2007 therefore revises the duties of parole and probation officers, focusing much of their attention to the rehabilitation of those who have served prison sentences. Such a recent but important development must be underscored so that the Act may change the attitudes and focus of probation from policing parolees and probationers to rehabilitating them.
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