Charles Koch has named criminal justice reform as a priority for 2015, “especially for the disadvantaged.”
Although this should surprise no-one, coming from a self-proclaimed promoter of libertarian ideals, the Wichita Eagle chose to headline their interview with Koch “Charles Koch’s views on criminal justice system just may surprise you.”
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Koch’s chief counsel, Mark Holden, recounted to the paper a 1995 case in Texas where the company was forced to spend tens of millions of dollars defending against “environmental crimes” by one of their oil refineries, and still ended up paying out a $10 million settlement. Holden said this made Koch wonder “how the little guy who doesn’t have Koch’s resources deals with prosecutions like that.”
Koch has been donating for years to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers to fight against misguided “tough on crime” initiatives, which have left American prisons overcrowded and trapped disadvantaged people in the cycle of crime.
Koch is interested in “making it fair and making (criminal) sentences more appropriate to the crime that has been committed.”
“Over the next year, we are going to be pushing the issues key to this, which need a lot of work in this country,” Koch said. “And that would be freedom of speech, cronyism and how that relates to opportunities for the disadvantaged.”
The nation’s criminal justice system needs reform, “especially for the disadvantaged,” Koch said, “making it fair and making (criminal) sentences more appropriate to the crime that has been committed.”
Holden listed several particular issues the Kochs hope to target, including the needless incarceration of nonviolent offenders, former offenders denied voting rights for years after release, and the problems plaguing underfunded public defender offices.
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