During a House floor debate about a bill aimed at changing D.C. criminal sentencing codes, Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland corrected Rep. Dan Bishop for mistakenly claiming that Thomas Jefferson signed the Constitution. Raskin, a former professor of constitutional law, pointed out that Jefferson did not sign the Constitution, but rather, he was on a diplomatic mission when it was being signed in Philadelphia. The bill introduced by Rep. Byron Donalds of Florida sought to change how D.C. criminal sentencing codes are handled, prompting a debate on the House floor.
Raskin argued that the GOP bill contradicted a core assertion of Jefferson’s founding document, the Declaration of Independence, by dictating how Washington, D.C. should handle criminal law matters. He pointed out that one of the central allegations in the Declaration of Independence was that colonists were being denied the right to define criminal offenses for themselves. In response to Donalds’ argument that the bill aimed to treat adult criminals as adults, Raskin emphasized the importance of allowing individuals to define criminal offenses for themselves.
The legislation introduced by Rep. Donalds, titled the D.C. Criminal Reforms to Immediately Make Everyone Safe Act of 2024, aimed to amend the D.C. Council’s Youth Rehabilitation Act by lowering the eligibility for youth offender status in D.C. from under 25 years old to 18 or younger. The bill was introduced in response to a public safety package passed by the D.C. Council that paved the way for stricter punishments for various crimes. The House passed the bill following the floor debate.
Rep. Raskin had recently won the Democratic nomination for the race for Maryland’s 8th Congressional District, seeking a fourth term representing the heavily Democratic district. Despite the correction made by Raskin on the House floor regarding Jefferson’s signing of the Constitution, no immediate response was received from spokespeople for Donalds, Bishop, or Raskin. The impromptu history lesson on the House floor served as a reminder of the importance of historical accuracy in legislative debates and discussions.
