Las Positas College

3000 Campus Hill Drive

Livermore, CA 94551
ssna@zonemail.clpccd.edu

May 15, 2018

Jefferson Sessions
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20530-0001

Dear Mr. Sessions,

I am Sky Na, a student studying at Las Positas Community College. My English class has
recently been studying works of writing focusing and reflecting on the critical issues that
we have in society. Specifically, we have been examining the writing of Michelle Alexander
in her book, The New Jim Crow. After becoming more educated on what could be improved
in our justice system, law enforcement, and how the government conducts the War on
Drugs, I wanted to personally take action in making a difference to change the way mass
incarceration and police brutality has ruined so many lives. After briefly researching which
figures in our society have the most authority in making these changes, I wanted to address
you specifically, being our nation’s Attorney General. I implore you to reconsider your
stance on these issues, especially the War on Drugs. I truly hope that you will see how
continuing this campaign not only harms the lives of the people who are targeted by it, but
the whole community of people who identify as being people of color.

While I hope that one day you will take the time to read the entirety of The New Jim Crow
yourself, I will include small excerpts of the book here to prove my point. I am aware that
you heavily support all of the policies that make the lives of both felons and ex-felons more
difficult, but are you aware of the real consequences that result from them? And before you
make the excuse arguing that people of color simply account for more crime, especially in
drugs: “African Americans constituted only 15 percent of current drug users in 1995, and
they constitute roughly the same percentage today,” (Alexander). The War on Drugs that
the government continues to conduct is focused on an issue that is marginally very small in
comparison to everything else that negatively affects our society. And yet how is it that the
government largely continues to deny that it is a race issue while: “75% of people in state
prison for drug conviction are people of color although blacks and whites see and use drugs at
roughly the same rate. In NYS, 94% of those imprisoned for a drug offense are people of
color,” (Alexander). According to these statistics, 75% of our prisons are holding a
population of people who are only accounting for 15% of the drug users in society. Our
government needs to ask itself if it really is the drugs that they are fighting. The result of
the War on Drugs is that many people are being targeted for a cause that does not require
so much attention. And in many cases, it is not even known for sure if the defendant was
even a drug user at all: “It is impossible to know for certain how many innocent drug
defendants convict themselves every year by accepting a plea bargain out of fear of
mandatory sentences,” (Alexander). By locking people who could even be innocent of
conducting minor crimes that do not hold nearly as many life-threatening statistics as so
many other unaddressed crimes, what exactly are you solving? Instead of saving lives, lives
have been ruined by policies such as the War on Drugs, as well as grants such as:
“Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF). TANF imposed a five-year lifetime limit
on welfare assistance, as well as a permanent, lifetime ban on eligibility for welfare and
food stamps for anyone convicted of a felony drug offense—including simple possession of
marijuana,” (Alexander). Having this stance and prohibiting ex-felons from being able to
have the means to live their lives and contribute back to society merely encourages the
same behavior that would cause them to become incarcerated again. Is this really the goal
that you were looking to achieve as a person who is meant to help benefit society?

Recently, I have been aware of your position on reforming prison sentencing. The bill
recently passed by the House Judiciary Committee is something to would help relieve
prisons of the numerous nonviolent drug offenders inhabiting them. Passing this bill would
help bring back together families, and allow people to live their lives instead of living a
bleak life as a criminal. Your opposition to this bill, as well as opposition coming from
members of the Senate is what has been preventing these positive changes from
happening. If you will not support this bill, at the very least, please do not actively oppose
it. It really would make this country a better place to be in. To contact me, I can be reached
at my school email: ssna@zonemail.clpccd.edu . Thank you so much for your time and I
wish you the best.

Sincerely,

Sky Na