NAACP Pushes For Justice Reform In Bay Area, California
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) - The NAACP has launched a rolling billboard campaign in the Bay Area and around California to drum up support for federal legislation for a Blue Ribbon Commission to review the entire criminal justice system. The billboard, along with supporters of the National Criminal Justice Commission Act of 2010, made an appearance Thursday in front of San Francisco City Hall.
KCBS Barbara Taylor Reporting:
If enacted, the bipartisan commission would spend the next year and a half studying the criminal justice system on a local, state and national level and make recommendations for reform. Alice Huffman, the president of the group's state conference, said a top-to-bottom review is needed to refocus government spending on everything from jails to education.
"We want to talk about this issue so that we can get this thing rolling, so we can roll this van right on into Congress and get this bill passed," said Huffman.
To drive the point home, the NAACP had a moving billboard on San Francisco streets Thursday, and assembled supporters of the Commission at City Hall, including State Senator Mark Leno.
"We have five percent of the world's population here in the United States of America, but 25 percent of those incarcerated around the world are in American jails and prisons," said Leno.
The Criminal Justice Commission Act Legislation has received House approval and is under consideration in the US Senate.
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