Obama Pushes Criminal Justice Reforms During Federal Prison Visit

President Barack Obama continued to push for criminal justice reforms during a visit to a federal prison in El Reno, Oklahoma, on July 16. The visit marked the first time a US president visited a federal prison.

“The United States accounts for 5 percent of the world’s population, we account for 25 percent of the world’s inmates and that represents a huge surge since 1980. A primary driver of this mass incarceration phenomenon is our drug laws – our mandatatory sentencing around drug laws.”

Obama added that while “there are people that need to be in prison”, the US has to reconsider if decades-long prison sentences for non-violent offenders are the best solution. Credit: YouTube/The White House