Washington (CNN) President Barack Obama next week will become the first sitting President to visit a federal prison, the White House announced Friday. Obama will visit El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in El Reno, Oklahoma, next Thursday, where he will meet with inmates and law enforcement officials, White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said.
At the prison, Obama will also conduct an interview with VICE that will be a part of a documentary airing this fall on HBO focusing on America’s “broken criminal justice system,” according to a press release from VICE. According to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website, El Reno is a medium security federal correctional institution.
At a news conference last week, Obama said reforming the criminal justice system was a top priority for his remaining time in office. On Tuesday, Obama will speak at the 106th Annual NAACP Convention in Philadelphia, where Josh Earnest said the President will outline “injustice” in the system and highlight ideas for reform.
The visit to El Reno will be a part of a two-day trip to Oklahoma. On Wednesday, the President will start his visit in Durant, where he will speak to the Choctaw Nation and make remarks on expanding economic opportunity.
article by Allie Malloy via cnn.com
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[…] goodblacknews Washington (CNN) President Barack Obama next week will become the first sitting President to visit […]
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Prisons across this country are in desperate need of reform. I am thankful Obama is facing this challenge, even if it is at the end of his time in office. Lenny Singleton is the perfect example of why we need prison reform. He committed 8 “grab and dash” robberies in a 6 day period while in the throes of his addiction to crack cocaine. He didn’t have a gun. He stole less than $600. He received 2 Life Sentences plus 100 years with no chance of parole. Hearing this you probably think, “How many people did he kill?” Lenny did not murder anyone. In fact, there is not one victim that filed against him. It will cost taxpayers well over a million dollars to keep him behind bars for the rest of his life — for stealing less than $600 and no one was hurt? There is more to the story. Americans need to wake up — people incarcerated in American prisons are Americans. As a nation, we should be empowering our own people. Visit http://www.justice4lenny.org to learn more and to sign Lenny’s petition. It is time for change and Obama visiting a federal prison is the first step. States need to follow suit.
Thank you for sharing the story and the link. Prison reform is definitely necessary!
[…] Obama will meet with law enforcement officials and inmates at El Reno Federal Correctional Instituti… outside Oklahoma City. According to a White House press release, the president will also be […]
[…] The announcement continues Obama’s recent efforts toward reforming the criminal justice system. As he approaches the end of his presidency, he has pledged to do more to address problems like mass incarceration, mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent offenders and police brutality. This summer, he became the first sitting president to visit a federal prison. […]