Harrisburg – May 1, 2019 –State Senator Art Haywood (D-Montgomery/Philadelphia) released the following statement in support of criminal justice reforms with the Crime Victims Act passing the Senate Judiciary Committee today:
“Victims of crime do have rights. We can make sure there are services in place to assist them. Part of criminal justice reform is how we treat victims.
I thank the PA Senate Judiciary Committee for a unanimous support today of revisions to the Crime Victims Act that I am sponsoring on a bipartisan basis with Senators Camera Bartolotta and Vincent Hughes. This legislation will give crime victims access to justice system information and improvements in compensation to increase fairness.
In addition, the passage of two other pieces of legislation enacting Phase II of the Justice Reinvestment Initiative which passed the Committee today will move us away from the over incarceration that plagues our communities and the Commonwealth. I look forward to approval by the full Senate, the House and Governor Wolf.”
A package of bills (SBs 500-502) was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee that will strengthen public safety, improve protection of crime victims, and reduce the costs of both prison and probation through the Justice Reinvestment Initiative.
