[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 26, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H4016]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       SECOND CHANCE FOR JUSTICE

  (Mr. CARDENAS asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. CARDENAS. Mr. Speaker, I grew up in Pacoima, California, a 
working-class neighborhood that was unjustly targeted by the justice 
system. It is a community that I am proud to currently represent.
  There are kids like Jerome Dixon, who was wrongfully incarcerated as 
a child and locked up for 20 years because he was pressured into giving 
a false confession after 25 hours of interrogation without having an 
adult or a parent present with him. He spent 20 years of his life 
behind bars for a crime that he did not commit.
  For over 25 years, I have worked to fix a broken system that has 
prioritized stuck-on-stupid incarceration over proven, effective 
rehabilitation. That is why, last week, I announced the ``Second Chance 
for Justice Package'' with my colleagues, Congresswoman Kamlager-Dove 
and Senator Cory Booker.
  These bills further invest in youth development and crime prevention 
programs. They will make our communities safer, reduce expenses for 
taxpayers, and demonstrate a real commitment to treating children with 
dignity.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting these 
commonsense bills. We owe our children a system that works with them, 
not one that is out to get them.

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