Virginia Crime

Last minute negotiations were underway late night on July 31 between the White House and Ambassador Leo Wanta to release $4.5 trillion in repatriated funds into the American economy, according to Michael C. Cottrell, Wanta’s financial consultant and AmeriTrust Groupe Inc., treasurer.

Wanta earlier had given U.S. authorities until the close of business on July 31 to honor a written agreement and release the massive sum of money to his AmeritTrust Groupe on behalf of the American people.

The trillion dollar deal, which would immediately revitalize and give the American economy a needed boost, however, amounts to only a portion of the $27.

5 trillion in offshore funds Wanta accumulated after the Cold War when he was assigned by President Ronald Reagan to devalue and destabilize the Russian currency.

“Apparently, the White House is using California time as a deadline to release the money and it should be a long night,” said Cottrell, who said the main parties of AmeriTrust, including Ambassador Wanta, were waiting to hear directly from the White House, as President Bush appears to be the only, virginia Crime, one standing between “a done deal” or backing out of the written agreement fashioned by two federal court judges.

Cottrell added, virginia Crime, he has always remained positive the money would be released before Wanta’s deadline expired, saying in case it isn’t AmeriTrust is prepared to file a federal law suit against governmental interests, virginia Crime, illegally blocking the deal and blocking them from paying $1.6 trillion in U.S. and state tax money, as well as using the balance of the “qausi public” money to immediately improve basic needs and infrastructure improvements.

Asked about the release of the money late Monday afternoon, Christopher Story, editor of the International Currency Review, a London based financial publication following the explosive international story, said a Florida contact in the financial community, virginia Crime, aware of the worldwide ramifications gave the chances of the money being, virginia Crime, released “a nine on a scale of 10.

“

Both Story and Cottrell will be appearing Tuesday on Greg Szymanski’s radio show, The Investigative Journal, to explain the final outcome of the Monday night Wanta negotiations, either reporting the money had been released with proper receipt or to explain Wanta’s plan to recover the money earmarked for the American people.

Wanta and Cottrell both previously stated if the money isn’t released by the end of business on July 31, they planned to file a federal law suit and to further seek recovery of the entire offshore funds estimated at between $27.

5 and $70 trillion.

Here is a breakdown of the negotiated Wanta Plan, indicating a healthy injection of liquid funds are right around the corner if the American people wake-up before it’s too late:

The agreement provides for the prepayment of taxes to the US Treasury, at a rate of 35% of the $4.5 trillion, equating to $1,575 trillion, together with prepayment of taxation to the State of Virginia at 6%, amounting to some $270 billion.

In addition, Wanta through his AmeriTrust Groupe, Inc.

, has put financial mechanisms in place for the further generation of corporation tax deposits payable to the U.S. Treasury Department/Internal Revenue Service of about $96 billion per banking day.

Because of financing transactions which will consequently be carried out by other U.S. financial institutions, estimated total windfall accruals to the U.S. Treasury are likely to exceed $200 billion per banking day, from the moment of start-up. This is now running nearly three months late.

Wanta, the legal trustor of more than $27.

5 trillion dollars in offshore funds illegally diverted by the last three Presidential administrations, recently entered into a $4.5 trillion settlement with U.S. authorities on the direction of two federal court judges.

However, President Bush and Fed have illegally blocked the money for over a month with Wanta now losing patience and giving authorities until the close of business on July 31 to fork over the money or saying he intends to file a federal lawsuit, as well as proceed after the entire $27.

5 trillion which may have matured over the years to $70 trillion.

Although the story has been called the “biggest financial in the history of the world” due to the connected corruption by the Bush and Clinton crime families who have back stabbed Ambassador Wanta who all along wanted to return the money to the American people as President Reagan had directed.

America stands now at the precipice of regaining its pride, honor and financial strength. Further, if Americans remain strong perhaps we can put a stop to the Illuminati’s goal of financially destroying the country.

The only thing standing in the way of life and death for Ambassador Leo Wanta is he “knows where the, virginia Crime, money is hidden” and the Illuminati banksters don’t.

A former U.S. Treasury official appointed trustee to a large sum of money by President Ronald Reagan, Wanta holds the financial “golden key” to 27.5 trillion dollars, money he says now held in public trust for the American people.

To back up Wanta’s trustee status as protector of trillions, a federal judge in Alexandria, Virginia, in 2003, ruled in his favor, saying Wanta’s trustee status is legally binding and the money is rightfully the property of the American people.

The federal court case, however, has left federal prosecutors in a perplexed state of mind, as they have not yet officially appealed the ruling, perhaps thinking it is better to let “sleeping dogs sleep” until they get their ‘cooked ducks or judges in the right government pond.”

But the real problem, as it stands today and why the money remains in limbo, is simply if Wanta returns the money to the U.S. Treasury, it will be immediately hi-jacked from the people and put into private Iluminati bank accounts since under the present Federal Reserve and the national banking system, there are no laws protecting the American people’s money.

“Dutch (President Reagan} always intended the money be returned to the American people to be used for roads, schools and health care,” said Wanta last Thursday on the Investigative Journal, where the former Ambassador spoke for two hours while still being held under house arrest in his Switzerland home.

During the interview that can be heard in full by going to The Investigative Journal archives at www.rbnlive, virginia Crime, .com , Wanta literally blew the lid off the Illuminati’s world wide banking scam, as well as providing detailed information about how Illiminati banksters with help from the Bush crime family and former President Clinton have already hijacked 752 billion dollars in what has been called by European investigators “the biggest bank heist in world history.

“

Besides the large sums of money at stake and the need to revamp the Federal Reserve and national banking laws to protect the public not private interests, Wanta’s story involves undercover intrigue and espionage at the highest levels, providing a mystery story better, virginia Crime, than any Hollywood movie can offer.

Behind following the money, his story involves saving President Reagan’s life in a little known assassination attempt left unreported in the mainstream press (see rbn interview), authority to arrest Marc (Reich) Rich, a meeting with Vince Foster just prior to his untimely death and just prior to Wanta being placed in a Swiss dungeon for 134 days when he confronted Rich, who was allowed to go free through White House connections.

To better understand Wanta’s role and the importance of his story, not to mention how 27.5 trillion dollars could provide a good jump start to the American economy, it’s best to go back to his original assignment in the Reagan administration at the time the Cold War was coming to a close.

At this time, Wanta, a distinguished U5 Secret Service/Treasury officer was the primary US Financial Warfare officer engaged in operations to “collapse” the Soviet Empire through financial maneuvers to prevent the Soviet military devoting larger resources to military expenditure.

For his financial plan which destabilized the Russian currency and resulted in huge dollar profits, leading into the 27.5 trillion in trust, instead of being recognized for his service, he was set-up by the Clinton’s and the Bush crime family after being released from the Swiss jail, sentenced to a 22 year jail term on bogus Wisconsin state income tax evasion charges

Although recently released and protected in a sense by the 2003 federal court ruling in his favor, Wanta has languished much of the time since 1993 in jail and now under house arrest, the primary reason for his predicament being he audited the Illuminati’s giga-financing operation of 1989-92 too accurately far the liking of certain high-level official crooks controlling the purse strings.

Regarding the Rich arrest in Switzerland and his meeting with Foster, Wanta said this on The Investigative Journal last week:

“I was named Ambassador from Somalia to Switzerland and Canada as a cover to arrest Rich. When I go there, I found myself in a Swiss dungeon and Rich was set free. Foster was also there on behlaf of the Clinton’s, asking for $250 million to be used for The Children’s Fund, which Hillary was the chairman. I thought it was to be used for a good cause, so we gave him the money.

“Later Vince attempted to help me out of my situation, but I was later notified he was found dead and I never found out what, virginia Crime, happened to the $250 million.”

Although Wanta had no idea what The Children’s Fund was all about, later a financial investigator, Marco Saba of the Organized Crime Observatory in Switzerland wrote this about turned out to be a secret fund:

“One component of this information concerns the activities of the CIA operative known as Mrs Hillary Rodham Clinton.

For some years prior to the elevation of her husband, Bill, a CIA operative like his ”CIA wife”, Hillary had been in control of an organization calling itself the Children’’s Defense Fund. Executive Order 12333 (1981) of President Reagan, the US intelligence services were authorised to operate what became known as Title 18, Section 6 USG corporations for intelligence purposes, and to deny any intelligence community connection (that is, to lie about their real purpose). Some of these entities have touchy-feely, welfarish titles, like The Children’’s Defense Fund.

It is alleged, un the basis of intelligence community leakages, that Hillary became accustomed to treating this fund as her own private slush fund.”

However, behind the scenes of Rich, Foster and the Clinton’s, a bigger game of world politics and deception was being played out, as Wanta unknowingly was caught in the middle of the U.S./Soviet double-cross of the American people, as the two collaborated to bring about an orchestrated fall of the Soviet Union.

In the simplest of terms, as the dust has finally settled from the Cold War, the issue of the 27.

5 trillion held by Wanta in trust for the American people still remains in limbo. According to Wanta, though, the issue is simple: change the banking laws so the money can be used for the people, not put into accounts of criminals.

Marco Saba, the Italian financial investigator involved with the Organized Crime Observatory (OCO) in Switzerland, investigated and traced Wanta’s behind the scenes accounting. An excerpt from Saba’s article from the Centro Studi Monetari, Arab-Asian Affairs, Vol. 29, Numbers 8&9, December 2005, explaining the backstabbing and double-crossing, as well as the details of $742.

5 billion which, virginia Crime, were stolen from Wanta’s giga-fund, can be found at http://www.arcticbeacon.com/26-Mar-2006.html .

August 4, 2004 — We have seen quite a bit of discussion over the past few months on the abuse in Abu Ghraib and how this relates to the current state of affairs in U.S. prisons here at home as well as the criminal justice system as a whole. Many Americans have been enlightened with the true statistics, which demonstrate that 85% of, virginia Crime, those incarcerated in the United States are nonviolent offenders. Some individuals have even been surprised to learn that we send people to prison for traffic violations in the United States and even give mandatory minimum terms to those who have driven without a license.

The truth is that, across the country, we spend billions and billions of dollars each year to incarcerate members of our society who pose absolutely no risk to public safety.

Groups working to shed light on the need for smart laws and more responsible justice in America have begun a campaign to educate the public on the monetary waste of the prison industrial complex and to gain support for H.R. 4752, the Literacy, Education, and Rehabilitation Act currently before Congress. The campaign called The Two Million Signature Campaign is primarily operating through internet connections at http://groups.

yahoo.com/group/LERAlegislation/ with an online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/LERA/petition.html.

Formers of the movement have stated, ???If Howard Dean can bring so many people together under one party, certainly we can bring the citizens together on this issue that clearly crosses all political, social, economic, and ethnic lines. Everyone is affected, whether their families are directly involved, their communities are being broken, or their tax dollars are simply going to support a system that has not proven to be very effective.

It is time for being smart on crime and increasing public safety with positive criminal justice reform.??

The letter to Congress supporting the campaign, which organizers intend to have delivered to state officials as well, reads as follows:

******

To: U.S. Congress

Dear Representatives of the People:

We, the undersigned, ask for your support of H.R. 4752 (the Literacy, Education, and Rehabilitation Act) in Congress, introduced by Representative Bobby Scott (D-Virginia 3rd). This bill would amend title 18, United States Code, to award credit toward the service of a sentence to prisoners who participate in designated educational, vocational, treatment, assigned work, or other developmental programs, and for other purposes.

We must ask ourselves how we expect our economy to survive when we continue to incarcerate larger numbers of nonviolent, first-time offenders, who pose no public safety risk. Cost per prisoner to incarcerate in a federal prison is approximately $28,000 with geriatric prisoners (55 years and older) costing as much as $80,000 per year. Yet, the cost of community supervision or drug court supervision is in the area of $3,000 to $5,000 per year.

The cost of incarceration is just the tip of the iceberg.

For every nonviolent offender (approximately 84% of the Bureau of Prisons’ population), who could otherwise be gainfully employed under an alternative sentence, we not only lose tax revenues, virginia Crime, and add entire families to the list of those receiving public assistance, but we shift the dollars being spent from local and small businesses to those large industries handling the federal contracts. In addition, we create an even larger group of children more at risk to incarceration themselves.

Statistics show that as many as 70% of those incarcerated had a parent incarcerated before them. The overall negative economic impact is just as staggering as the destructive effect on families and communities.

This is not just a serious moral issue, but a potentially disastrous financial position as well. It is time to think about how to be ???Smart on Crime?? rather than just ???Tough of Crime??.

Recent findings incorporated into proposed legislation introduced by Congressman Portman supported by President Bush reflect that:

??? In 2002, 2,000,000 people were incarcerated in Federal or State prisons or in local jails.

Nearly 650,000 people are released from incarceration to communities nationwide each year.

??? There are over 3,200 jails, virginia Crime, throughout the United States, the vast majority of which are operated by county governments. Each year, these jails will release in excess of 10,000,000 people back into the community.

??? Nearly two-thirds of released State prisoners are expected to be rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within three years after release.

??? In his 2004 State of the Union address, President Bush correctly stated: `We know from long experience that if [former prisoners can’t find work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely to commit more crimes and return to prison.

. . . America is the land of the second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.’

??? Successful reentry protects those who might otherwise be crime victims. It also improves the likelihood that individuals released from prison or juvenile detention facilities can pay fines, fees, restitution, and family support.

??? According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, expenditures on corrections alone increased from $9,000,000,000 in 1982 to $44,000,000,000 in 1997.

These figures do not include the cost of arrest and prosecution, nor do they take into account the cost to victims.

??? Increased recidivism results in profound collateral consequences, including public health risks, homelessness, unemployment, and disenfranchisement.

??? One of the most significant costs of prisoner reentry is the impact on children, the weakened ties among family members, and destabilized communities. The long-term generational effects of a social structure in which imprisonment is the norm and law-abiding role models are absent are difficult to measure but undoubtedly exist.

??? According to the 2001 national data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 3,500,000 parents were supervised by the correctional system. Prior to incarceration, 64 percent of female prisoners and 44 percent of male prisoners in State facilities lived with their children.

??? Between 1991 and 1999, the number of children with a parent in a Federal or State correctional facility increased by more than 100 percent, from approximately 900,000 to approximately 2,000,000. According to the Bureau of Prisons, there is evidence to suggest that inmates who are connected to their children and families are more likely to avoid negative incidents and have reduced sentences.

??? The National Institute of Justice has found that after one year of release, up to 60 percent of former inmates are not employed.

??? According to the National Institute of Literacy, 70 percent of all prisoners function at the two lowest literacy levels.

??? The Bureau of Justice Statistics has found that 27 percent of Federal inmates, 40 percent of State inmates, and 47 percent of local jail inmates have never completed high school or its equivalent. Furthermore, the Bureau of Justice Statistics has found that less educated inmates are more likely to be recidivists.

Only 1 in 4 local jails offer basic adult education programs.

??? Participation in State correctional education programs lowers the likelihood of reincarceration by 29 percent,, virginia Crime, according to a recent United States Department of Education study. A Federal Bureau of Prisons study found a 33 percent drop in recidivism among federal prisoners who participated in vocational and apprenticeship training.

Last month the American Bar Association issued their findings after conducting extensive research and hearings surrounding today’s sentencing guidelines.

In federal prison alone we have over 179,000 men and women incarcerated of which 85% are first time, nonviolent offenders. The ABA recommended: ???The resolution urges states, territories and the federal government to ensure that sentencing systems provide appropriate punishment without over-reliance on incarceration. Lengthy periods of incarceration should be reserved for offenders who pose the greatest danger to the community and who commit the most serious offenses. Alternatives to incarceration should be provided when offenders pose minimal risk to the community and appear likely to benefit from rehabilitation efforts.

??

Further, events during June 21-25, have the potential to affect the lives of many of the 176,000 men and women who are incarcerated in federal prisons:

??? The Second Chance Act was introduced by a bipartisan group of members of the House of Representatives. Provisions of the bill will offer a number of opportunities to prisoners following their release.

??? The decision (Blakely v. Washington) of the Supreme Court threatens the very existence of the federal sentencing guidelines.

??? U.S. District Judge William Young called the government’s sentencing guidelines unconstitutional. This has been reiterated by several district court judges since the Blakely deicision; and

??? H.R. 4752 (Literacy, Educational, and Rehabilitation Act of 2004) was introduced in the House. LERA calls for awards of ???good time?? to prisoners who are progressing with preparations to lead productive lives.

The federal prison population has increased more than 7-fold over the past 20 years.

In 1984, the population was about 25,000 prisoners. Today, there are more than 175,000 prisoners, and the population is growing. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the primary reasons for this tremendous growth have been longer sentences resulting from the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act and mandatory minimum sentences. The Sentencing Reform Act established determinate sentencing, abolished parole, and dramatically reduced good time credits. Other sentencing policy by Congressional or administrative action has increasingly limited the discretion of judges and prison officials to impact sentence lengths or confinement options.

During the same period, the annual number of prisoners returning to communities has also increased several fold. Currently, about 40,000 prisoners leave federal prisons each year. The question is whether they leave prison better prepared to lead law-abiding lives, or in a worse position to do so. The addition of a felony record and a federal prison stay is not, in and of itself, likely to add to a person’s job or social development prospects.

Unfortunately, the elimination of incentives such as parole, good time credits and funding for college courses, means that fewer inmates participate in and excel in literacy, education, treatment and other development programs.

LERA provides incentives and recognitions for achievement by giving the BOP Director the discretion to grant up to 60 sentence credit days per year to an inmate for successful participation in literacy, education, work training, treatment and other development programs. LERA will not only prevent crime victimizations, but also save taxpayers money. Many sentences are excessively long because mandatory sentencing policies do not allow sentencing judges the discretion to distinguish between hardened criminals and those amenable to rehabilitation and preparation for successful re-entry.

LERA allows offenders to distinguish themselves.

The Literacy, Education, and Rehabilitation Act (LERA), H.R. 4752, would address all these issues by increasing educational and program requirements and providing valid incentives for participation as well as success. The proposed legislation would provide a cost effective means of providing these increased programs by utilizing the current pool of incarcerated individuals who can teach, doing so by providing credit towards their sentence rather than financial rewards.

In addition, money would be saved through a decrease in the length of incarceration as well as the rate of recidivism. This adds up to healthier families, increased public safety, and a stronger economy.

With all this in mind, we ask you to support the upcoming LERA legislation.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

http://www.petitiononline.com/LERA/petition.html

******

This campaign could prove to be truly successful and mark the turning point for positive reform. After all, the atmosphere surrounding criminal justice has really started to change.

On 20 January 2004, in the State of the Union Address, President Bush stated, “In the past, we’ve worked together to bring mentors to children of prisoners, and provide treatment for the addicted, and help for the homeless. Tonight I ask you to consider another group of Americans in need of help. This year, some 600,000 inmates will be released from prison back into society. We know from long experience that if they can’t find work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely to commit crime and return to prison.

So tonight, I propose a four-year, $300 million prisoner re-entry initiative to expand job training and placement services, to provide transitional housing, and to help newly released prisoners get mentoring, including from faith-based groups. America is the land of second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.”

Then, while accepting the nomination for Democratic presidential candidate in Boston, John Kerry stated, ???When, virginia Crime, I was a prosecutor, I met young kids who were in trouble, abandoned by adults.

And as President, I am determined that we stop being a nation content to spend $50,000 a year to keep a young person in prison for the rest of their life ??” when we could invest $10,000 to give them Head Start, Early Start, Smart Start, the best possible start in life.??

Both of these statements mark the change from the ???tough on crime’ propaganda to a focus on smart laws that should help improve the system.

For more information on The Two Million Signature Campaign, contact: The Federal Prison Policy Project, P.

O. Box 742552, Riverdale, GA 30274, 770-477-9814, www.fppp.org; or AdvoCare, Inc., P.O. Box 133, Hancock, MD 21750-0133, 202-271-1623, www.advocareflash.org.

???Today’s prisoners are tomorrow’s neighbors.??

August 4, 2004 — We have seen quite a bit of discussion over the past few months on the abuse in Abu Ghraib and how this relates to the current state of affairs in U.S. prisons here at home as well as the criminal justice system as a whole. Many Americans have been enlightened with the true statistics, which demonstrate that 85% of those incarcerated in the United States are nonviolent offenders. Some individuals have even been surprised to learn that we send people to prison for traffic violations in the United States and even give mandatory minimum terms to those who have driven without a license.

The truth is that, across the country, we spend billions and billions of dollars each year to incarcerate members of our society who pose absolutely no risk to public safety.

Groups working to shed light on the need for smart laws and more responsible justice in America have begun a campaign to educate the public on the monetary waste of the prison industrial complex and to gain support for H.R. 4752, the Literacy, Education, and Rehabilitation Act currently before Congress. The campaign called The Two Million Signature Campaign is primarily operating through internet connections at http://groups.

yahoo.com/group/LERAlegislation/ with an online petition at http://www.petitiononline.com/LERA/petition.html.

Formers of the movement have stated, ???If Howard Dean can bring so many people together under one party, certainly we can bring the citizens together on this issue that clearly crosses all political, social, economic, and ethnic lines. Everyone is affected, whether their families are directly involved, their communities are being broken, or their tax dollars are simply going to support a system that has not proven to be very effective.

It is time for being smart on crime and increasing public safety with positive criminal justice reform.??

The letter to Congress supporting the campaign, which organizers intend to have delivered to state officials as well, reads as follows:

To: U.S. Congress

Dear Representatives of the People:

We, the undersigned, ask for your support of H.R. 4752 (the Literacy, Education, and Rehabilitation Act) in Congress, introduced by Representative Bobby Scott (D-Virginia 3rd). This bill would amend title 18, United States Code, to award credit toward the service of a sentence to prisoners who participate in designated educational, vocational, treatment, assigned work, or other developmental programs, and for other purposes.

We must ask ourselves how we expect our economy to survive when we continue to incarcerate larger numbers of nonviolent, first-time offenders, who pose no public safety risk. Cost per prisoner to incarcerate in a federal prison is approximately $28,000 with geriatric prisoners (55 years and older) costing as much as $80,000 per year. Yet, the cost of community supervision or drug court supervision is in the area of $3,000 to $5,000 per year.

The cost of incarceration is just the tip of the iceberg.

For every nonviolent offender (approximately 84% of the Bureau of Prisons’ population), who could otherwise be gainfully employed under an alternative sentence, we not only lose tax revenues and add entire families to the list of those receiving public assistance, but we shift the dollars being spent from local and small businesses to those large industries handling the federal contracts. In addition, we create an even larger group of children more at risk to incarceration themselves.

Statistics show that as many as 70% of those incarcerated had a parent incarcerated before them.

The overall negative economic impact is just as staggering as the destructive effect on families and communities.

This is not just a serious moral issue, but a potentially disastrous financial position as well. It is time to think about how to be ???Smart on Crime?? rather than just ???Tough of Crime??.

Recent findings incorporated into proposed legislation introduced by Congressman Portman supported by President Bush reflect that:

??? In 2002, 2,000,000 people were incarcerated in Federal or State prisons or in local jails.

Nearly 650,000 people are released from incarceration to communities nationwide each year.

??? There are over 3,200 jails throughout the United States, the vast majority of which are operated by county governments. Each year, these jails will release in excess of 10,000,000 people back into the community.

??? Nearly two-thirds of released State prisoners are expected to be rearrested for a felony or serious misdemeanor within three years after release.

??? In his 2004 State of the Union address, President Bush correctly stated: `We know from long experience that if [former prisoners can’t find work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely to commit more crimes and return to prison.

. . . America is the land of the second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.’

??? Successful reentry protects those who might otherwise be crime victims. It also improves the likelihood that individuals released from prison or juvenile detention facilities can pay fines, fees, restitution, and family support.

??? According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, expenditures on corrections alone increased from $9,000,000,000 in 1982 to $44,000,000,000 in 1997.

These figures do not include the cost of arrest and prosecution, nor do they take into account the cost to victims.

??? Increased recidivism results in profound collateral consequences, including public health risks, homelessness, unemployment, and disenfranchisement.

??? One of the most significant costs of prisoner reentry is the impact on children, the weakened ties among family members, and destabilized communities. The long-term generational effects of a social structure in which imprisonment is the norm and law-abiding role models are absent are difficult to measure but undoubtedly exist.

??? According to the 2001 national data from the Bureau of Justice Statistics, 3,500,000 parents were supervised by the correctional system. Prior to incarceration, 64 percent of female prisoners and 44 percent of male prisoners in State facilities lived with their children.

??? Between 1991 and 1999, the number of children with a parent in a Federal or State correctional facility increased by more than 100 percent, from approximately 900,000 to approximately 2,000,000. According to the Bureau of Prisons, there is evidence to suggest that inmates who are connected to their children and families are more likely to avoid negative incidents and have reduced sentences.

??? The National Institute of Justice has found that after one year of release, up to 60 percent of former inmates are not employed.

??? According to the National Institute of Literacy, 70 percent of all prisoners function at the two lowest literacy levels.

??? The Bureau of Justice Statistics has found that 27 percent of Federal inmates, 40 percent of State inmates, and 47 percent of local jail inmates have never completed high school or its equivalent. Furthermore, the Bureau of Justice Statistics has found that less educated inmates are more likely to be recidivists.

Only 1 in 4 local jails offer basic adult education programs.

??? Participation in State correctional education programs lowers the likelihood of reincarceration by 29 percent, according to a recent United States Department of Education study. A Federal Bureau of Prisons study found a 33 percent drop in recidivism among federal prisoners who participated in vocational and apprenticeship training.

Last month the American Bar Association issued their findings after conducting extensive research and hearings surrounding today’s sentencing guidelines.

In federal prison alone we have over 179,000 men and women incarcerated of which 85% are first time, nonviolent offenders. The ABA recommended: ???The resolution urges states, territories and the federal government to ensure that sentencing systems provide appropriate punishment without over-reliance on incarceration. Lengthy periods of incarceration should be reserved for offenders who pose the greatest danger to the community and who commit the most serious offenses. Alternatives to incarceration should be provided when offenders pose minimal risk to the community and appear likely to benefit from rehabilitation efforts.

??

Further, events during June 21-25, have the potential to affect the lives of many of the 176,000 men and women who are incarcerated in federal prisons:

??? The Second Chance Act was introduced by a bipartisan group of members of the House of Representatives. Provisions of the bill will offer a number of opportunities to prisoners following their release.

??? The decision (Blakely v. Washington) of the Supreme Court threatens the very existence of the federal sentencing guidelines.

??? U.S. District Judge William Young called the government’s sentencing guidelines unconstitutional. This has been reiterated by several district court judges since the Blakely deicision; and

??? H.R. 4752 (Literacy, Educational, and Rehabilitation Act of 2004) was introduced in the House. LERA calls for awards of ???good time?? to prisoners who are progressing with preparations to lead productive lives.

The federal prison population has increased more than 7-fold over the past 20 years.

In 1984, the population was about 25,000 prisoners. Today, there are more than 175,000 prisoners, and the population is growing. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), the primary reasons for this tremendous growth have been longer sentences resulting from the 1984 Sentencing Reform Act and mandatory minimum sentences. The Sentencing Reform Act established determinate sentencing, abolished parole, and dramatically reduced good time credits. Other sentencing policy by Congressional or administrative action has increasingly limited the discretion of judges and prison officials to impact sentence lengths or confinement options.

During the same period, the annual number of prisoners returning to communities has also increased several fold. Currently, about 40,000 prisoners leave federal prisons each year. The question is whether they leave prison better prepared to lead law-abiding lives, or in a worse position to do so. The addition, virginia Crime, of a felony record and a federal prison stay is not, in and of itself, likely to add to a person’s job or social development prospects.

Unfortunately, the elimination of incentives such as parole, good time credits and funding for college courses, means that fewer inmates participate in and excel in literacy, education, treatment and other development programs.

LERA provides incentives and recognitions for achievement by giving the BOP Director the discretion to grant up to 60 sentence credit days per year to an inmate for successful participation in literacy, education, work training, treatment and other development programs. LERA will not only prevent crime victimizations, but also save taxpayers money. Many sentences are excessively long because mandatory sentencing policies do not allow sentencing judges the discretion to distinguish between hardened criminals and those amenable to rehabilitation and preparation for successful re-entry.

LERA allows offenders to distinguish themselves.

The Literacy, Education, and Rehabilitation Act (LERA), H.R. 4752, would address all these issues by increasing educational and program requirements and providing valid incentives for participation as well as success. The proposed legislation would provide a cost effective means of providing these increased programs by utilizing the current pool of incarcerated individuals who can teach, doing so by providing credit towards their, virginia Crime, sentence rather than financial rewards.

In addition, money would be saved through a decrease in the length of incarceration as well as the rate of recidivism. This adds up to healthier families, increased public safety, and a stronger economy.

With all this in mind, we ask you to support the upcoming LERA legislation.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,

http://www.petitiononline.com/LERA/petition.html

This campaign could prove to be truly successful and mark the turning point for positive reform. After all, the atmosphere surrounding criminal justice has really started to change.

On 20 January 2004, in the State of the Union Address, President Bush stated, “In the past, we’ve worked together to bring mentors to children of prisoners, and provide treatment for the addicted, and help for the, virginia Crime, homeless. Tonight I ask you to consider another group of Americans in need of help. This year, some 600,000 inmates will be released from prison back into society. We know from long experience that if they can’t find work, or a home, or help, they are much more likely to commit crime and return to prison.

So tonight, I propose a four-year, $300 million prisoner re-entry initiative to expand job training and placement services, to provide transitional housing, and to help newly released prisoners get mentoring, including from faith-based groups. America is the land of second chance, and when the gates of the prison open, the path ahead should lead to a better life.”

Then, while accepting the nomination for Democratic presidential candidate in Boston, John Kerry stated, ???When I was a prosecutor, I met young kids who were in trouble, abandoned by adults.

And as President, I am determined that we stop being a nation content to spend $50,000 a year to keep a young person in prison for the rest of their life ??” when we could invest $10,000 to give them Head Start, Early Start, Smart Start, the best possible start, virginia Crime, in life.??

Both of these statements mark the change, virginia Crime, from the ???tough on crime’ propaganda to a focus on smart laws that should help improve the system.

For more information on The Two Million Signature Campaign, contact: The Federal Prison Policy Project, P.

O. Box 742552, Riverdale, GA 30274, 770-477-9814, www.fppp.org; or AdvoCare, Inc., P.O. Box 133, Hancock, MD 21750-0133, 202-271-1623, www.advocareflash.org.

???Today’s prisoners are tomorrow’s neighbors.??

Federal Prison Policy Project

Board of Directors