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US Lawmakers Embrace 'Historic' Criminal-Justice Reform - Senator

© AP Photo / Julie JacobsonA Rikers Island detention facility officer walks down a hallway of the jail,
A Rikers Island detention facility officer walks down a hallway of the jail, - Sputnik International
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The reform seeks to target "violent criminals and masterminds in drug trade" while tackling over-incarceration.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Conservative and liberal members in the US Senate joined forces on Tuesday to introduce a sweeping criminal-justice reform bill that would reduce sentences for non-violent offenders and give judges greater flexibility in sentencing.

"This historic reform bill addresses legitimate over-incarceration concerns while targeting violent criminals and masterminds in the drug trade," Senators Charles Grassley, the Republican chairman of the Senate’s Judiciary Committee, said in a statement.

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Supporters of the bill included the Senate’s Assistant Democratic leader Dick Durban and Majority leader John Cornyn, a Republican.

An awkward situation confronts the justice system in the United States, with some prisoners serving long sentences for marijuana possession at a time when many US states have legalized the drug for medical and recreational use.

In July, President Barack Obama called for similar reforms, saying a distinction had to be made between young people making unwise mistakes and violent criminals.

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