February 12, 2021–We supported today’s reintroduction of the bipartisan Smarter Pretrial Detention for Drug Charges Act (S. 309), which would eliminate the unfair blanket presumption of pretrial detention for most federal drug charges. Pretrial detention rates–meaning people kept in prison before they are proven guilty or plead guilty–are at record high levels. By removing this legal presumption, this bipartisan legislation would instead permit federal courts to make individualized determinations regarding whether pretrial detention is in fact appropriate for each person accused of a nonviolent federal drug offense. We endorse this legislation and will work tirelessly with Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Chris Coons (D-DE) to see it passed.
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