UNITED STATES—Dr. Bernice King, the youngest daughter of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. wrote a letter in support of the Criminal Justice Reform Act endorsed by President Donald Trump.
The letter which was acquired by The Daily Wire where King wrote saying that “The First Step Act” is a “monumental” step towards assisting and empowering the least of these in America.”
“For too long disenfranchised populations have suffered in a punitive prison system that offers no viable pathways to reentering society. Today, over two million Americans are incarcerated in a system that does not offer the resources to bring out their intellectual and creative genius.”
In endorsing the bill, President Trump said in November that the U.S. “benefits if former inmates are able to re-enter society as productive law-abiding citizens.” King said in the letter that the bill is “not comprehensive enough.” King noted in the letter that the First STEP Act “will retroactively reform unfair sentencing disparities that affected 2,600 federal prisoners convicted of crack offenses before 2010.”
Bernice serves as the CEO of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Non-violent Social Change.
“This year the King Center commemorated 50 years since my father’s assassination with a theme ‘Together We Win with Love for Humanity.’ What better way to close this year and honor Martin Luther King Jr.’s legacy than to see political lines vanish in support of the compassion and humanity within the FIRST STEP Act. Let’s move America forward! I ask members of Congress to Honor My Father’s Legacy by showing the world we can come together…because Together We Win… With Love for Humanity!”
