Obama says US criminal justice system unfair

United States President, Barack Obama has called for a reform of the US criminal justice system, saying much of it “remains unfair” and that punishments should correspond to the severity of crimes.

“The United States is home to five percent of the world’s population, but 25 percent of the world’s prisoners,” Obama said in his weekly radio address on Saturday. “Every year, we spend $80 billion to keep people locked up.”

According to Obama, the reason the United States has such a high prison population — 2.2 million — is that more non-violent offenders have been put behind bars over the past decades than ever before.

Continuing, Obama said despite attempts to address the issue, “much of our criminal justice system remains unfair.

“In recent years, more of our eyes have been opened to this truth. We can’t close them anymore.”

Read also: Killing of TV journalists: Obama renews call for gun control

He called on the Republican-controlled Congress to send reform bills to his desk to sign into law, adding that he would be traveling around the country to highlight the issue in the coming weeks.

Among other things, “justice means that the punishment should fit the crime,” Obama said.

“And justice means allowing our fellow Americans who have made mistakes to pay their debt to society, and rejoin their community as active, rehabilitated citizens.”

The President’s comments are coming as the United States prepares to release thousands of prisoners considered at low risk of returning to crime, as part of an effort to ease prison overcrowding and redress overly harsh sentences.

Petty criminals, drug users serving long sentences for minor and non-violent crimes are billed to benefit from the measure. This is coming after the US Sentencing Commission, which sets policy for federal crimes, reduced its sentencing guidelines for drug possession.

The US population has increased by 30 percent since 1980, while its prison population jumped 800 percent during the same period.

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