Article snippet: The league recently formally endorsed the bipartisan Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) introduced the legislation, thwarted in earlier incarnations, earlier this month. A diverse lot including Senators Mike Lee (R-Utah), Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and Cory Booker (D-NJ) support the measure. “We felt that this was an issue over the last months, as we have continued to work with our players on issues of equality and on issues of criminal justice reform, that was surfaced for us, and we thought it was appropriate to lend our support to it,” Joe Lockhart, the former spokesman for President Bill Clinton who now performs a similar role for NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, informed reporters in acknowledging the league’s support for the bill on a media conference call. The bill changes life sentences for three-time drug felons to 25-year terms, amends the Controlled Substances Act to impose a mandatory minimum of five years rather than ten, and seeks alternatives to prison for nonviolent offenders, such as home confinement. It tasks the attorney general with creating “a strategic plan for the expansion of recidivism reduction programming and productive activities.” The bill applies to the small percentage of inmates in federal prisons and not to those sentenced in state courts. Though the legislation enjoys support that defies ideological categorization, the NFL’s decision to delve into politics of any kind... Link to the full article to read more