In 2005, a judge sentenced gang member Joel Francisco to life in prison for trafficking in crack cocaine.  It was the harshest sentence ever handed down in Rhode Island for a drug crime. Fourteen years later, in February, 2019, Francisco was released from prison as a beneficiary of the First Step Act. The bipartisan reform bill was signed into law in late 2018, with groups from both sides of the aisle supporting its passage as they assured the public that only nonviolent, low-level offenders would be considered for early release.  According to the Marshall Project, the most immediate impact of the bill would be to retroactively reduce the sentences of prisoners convicted of crack cocaine offenses before 2010. Predictably, less than two weeks after Trump signed the First Step Act into law, the notorious crack-dealer asked the court for a sentencing reduction, citing the legislation. Francisco had completed several rehabilitation programs while in prison...(Read Full Post)