Trump hosts discussion on prison reform, reducing recidivism

President Trump and Attorney General Jeff Sessions hosted a listening session at the White House on prison reform, as the administration considers how to reduce the rate of reoffending criminals.

"We have a great interest in helping them turn their lives around," Mr. Trump said. 

The Bureau of Justice Statistics claims 68 percent of state offenders — representing the majority of those incarcerated in the U.S. — are rearrested within three years, and 77 percent are rearrested within five years. Part of the administration's goal is to save federal tax dollars, as the U.S. spends billions of taxpayer dollars at the federal, state and local level to incarcerate people. 

"We will be very tough on crime, but we will provide a ladder of opportunity for the future," Mr. Trump said. 

Sessions has taken a hard-line stance on drugs, violent crimes and criminals, as has Mr. Trump. As attorney general, Sessions has made a point to enforce marijuana laws and utilize the toughest sentences. 

But prison reform means different things to different people — the White House discussion is not expected to address tough topics like prison conditions or easing sentences for lower-level offenders. 

The president also briefly commented on his upcoming annual physical, the results of which will be released. 

"I think it's going to go very well. I'll be very surprised if it doesn't," he said. 

If the physical doesn't go well, the president joked the stock market would take a "hit."

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• Donald Trump
• Jeff Sessions