Prison Reform
The Federal prison system is unduly punitive and affords little hope that those incarcerated benefit from their time in the system. Federal prisoners should not be forced to pay exorbitant rates to use the telephone to speak with loved ones and to purchase items from prisons’ commissaries. Parole should be restored to the Federal prison system and inmates should be incarcerated as near to their families as the prison system can reasonably permit. Furthermore, incarcerated inmates should pay market prices for the items they purchase, not inflated "captive audience" prices forced upon them by the circumstances of their incarceration. Finally, Congress should implement retroactive sentence reductions for most, if not all, non-violent narcotics offenses.