Sentencing Reform Bill Hailed as 'Landmark' Measure

A broad bipartisan coalition made a major potential breakthrough in reforming the criminal justice system Thursday.

The coalition put together a bill in the Senate that would change the length of sentences for offenders.

"This is truly a landmark piece of legislation. It's the biggest criminal justice reform in a generation. It's the product of a very thoughtful, bipartisan deliberation by the Congress," Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said.

The measure, known as the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, focuses on reducing mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent drug offenders among other items.

Supporters of the bill say that mass incarceration has cost taxpayers billions of dollars by imposing unnecessarily harsh sentences for relatively minor crimes.

"This is a historic turning point for the Senate, hopefully the Congress, and the country," TIME quoted Christine Leonard, executive director of the Coalition for Public Safety. "It turns back the clock in terms of how we approach these issues legislatively."