On August 30, U.S. Senator Rand Paul joined FreedomWorks, Justice Action Network, and White House Senior Advisor Jared Kushner to release the results of a new poll showing Kentucky voters’ strong support for criminal justice reforms, including those in the FIRST STEP Act. 

In his remarks, Senator Paul highlighted the extremely positive poll results, and called for a bipartisan push for prison reform and justice reform: “As a leading voice for justice reform, I’m pleased by the results of this poll, as they demonstrate something I’ve been saying for years – this is a bipartisan issue on which I think all of us can come together and make real, impactful change to fix our broken system,” said Sen. Paul. “With the support of the White House, President Trump, and hopefully my fellow members of Congress, I am optimistic that we can finally make these meaningful reforms a reality and return our focus to rehabilitation, not incarceration.”

BACKGROUND: POLL TOP LINES The poll was commissioned by the Justice Action Network and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies from August 21 to August 23, 2018, and asked 500 Kentuckians about their opinions on criminal justice reform.

·      82% of all polled think the country’s criminal justice system needs significant improvements

·      82% of all polled think a person convicted of non-violent drug offenses should not be sentenced to life in prison (82% GOP) ·      74% of all polled think Congress should give judges the option to depart from mandatory minimums in certain circumstances (73% GOP)
·      70% of all polled think the prison and sentencing reform bill should get a vote in the Senate (86% GOP)
·      89% of all polled think that the main goal of our criminal justice system should be rehabilitating inmates to become productive, law-abiding citizens (87% GOP)

You can view the poll results HERE.