This past December, Congress passed the First Step Act, a law that takes modest steps to reform the criminal justice system. The law was supported by groups on both sides of the aisle including the American Civil Liberties Union and the Republican-backed Right on Crime. 
 
What Does the Law Do?
 
Overall the law makes federal sentencing less punitive. This could benefit individuals with mental illness and addiction issues. Important provisions of the First Step Act would:
 

• Make retroactive the reforms of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 which reduced the disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine sentences at the federal level. This will lead to thousands of people being released from prison on the day the law goes into effect.
• Ease mandatory minimum sentences
• Increase the cap for “good time” credits that inmates can earn to reduce their sentences
• Allow inmates to get “earned time” credits for participating in vocational and rehabilitative programs. These credits would allow inmates to be released early into halfway houses or home confinement. 
• Force the Bureau of Prisons to place inmates in facilities within 500 miles of their loved ones which would help people maintain strong bonds with their families.
• Improve the compassionate release program which allows terminally ill and elderly inmates come home
• Ban the shackling of women who are pregnant in labor or post-partum
• Provide women in prison with adequate feminine hygiene products for free.
• Ban the practice of putting juveniles in solitary confinement
• Increase funding for programming and classes
• Reauthorize the Second Chance Act

Second Chance Act

The Second Chance Act is a law that supports state and local reentry programs aimed at reducing recidivism. It also helps provide people leaving prison with support services such as mental health care and substance abuse assistance. The Second Chance Act provides grants to state and local governments and nonprofit organizations to develop and implement programs to help incarcerated individuals successfully reintegrate into the community. 
If you or a loved one has a mental disability and has been arrested or convicted of a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. Elizabeth Kelley specializes in representing individuals with mental illnesses. To schedule a consultation call (509) 991-7058.

For over 5,000 years, practitioners have known the secret that yoga makes you feel better. It has become a popular way to increase strength, improve balance, and enhance flexibility. We know that yoga is good for your body, but it is also very good for your mental health. Yoga practices can reduce the impactof exaggerated stress responses and may be helpful for those with depression and anxiety.
 
Natural Anxiety Relief
 
It is no surprise that yoga can reduce anxiety. Studiesshowthat yoga can be a powerful tool for calming your nervous system. Yoga lowers tension and promotes relaxation. It also helps regulate the breath and increase body awareness. In addition, yoga encourages mindfulness which in itself is effective in reducing anxiety. The breathing and meditation associated with yoga can take you out of the “fight or flight” mode that anxiety and panic bring about and help focus you in a more relaxed state. 
 
Yoga postures, known as asanas, can also help ease the physical discomfort associated with anxiety. Strengthening, lengthening, and balancing the muscles can help relieve the tension in the body that builds up as a result of anxiety.
 
Help with Depression
 
A recentstudyshowed that taking yoga classes twice a week could help relieve the symptoms of depression. Yoga postures coupled with controlled breathing had a mood-altering effect. Yoga can also help with depression because it can help you cultivate a more non-judgmental relationship with yourself. When you're depressed, it's easy to stop doing things for yourself, like eating healthy and exercising. Devoting even a small amount of time to yoga on a regular basis is an act of kindness towards yourself and treating yourself as someone worthy of being taken care of. You also learn to accept your body and its abilities. In addition, practicing yoga can help establish a sense of community and increase social attachments. This can lead to a better support system and help with feelings of loneliness associated with the symptoms of depression.
 
If you or a loved one has a mental disability and has been arrested or convicted of a crime, you need an experienced criminal defense attorney on your side. Elizabeth Kelley specializes in representing individuals with mental illnesses. To schedule a consultation call (509) 991-7058.