Politics, shootings undercut criminal justice overhaul

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hopes for overhauling the nation's criminal justice system have faded in Congress this year, undercut by a rash of summer shootings involving police and the pressure of election-year politics.

Republicans, including Majority Whip John Cornyn of Texas and Utah Sen. Mike Lee, had joined forces with Democrats in hopes of revising the 1980s and '90s-era federal "tough on crime" laws by reducing some mandatory sentences for low-level drug offenders and giving judges greater discretion in sentencing.

The bipartisan group encountered fierce opposition from some Republicans who argue that reform could lead to an increase in crime and pose a greater danger to law enforcement.

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump hasn't commented on the pending legislation but has dubbed himself the "law-and-order candidate" for what he calls a country in crisis, with terrorism in cities and attacks on police.

Proponents also argue that there's no direct connection between the overhaul and this summer's shootings of black men in Minneapolis and Baton Rouge — or the shooting of police officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge — since the measures would primarily deal with incarceration of low-level drug offenders and rehabilitation programs.