Attorney General: Drug Sentences Need Reform, Too Many In Prison

[Livinginthealps]

http://blog.norml.org/2013/08/09/attorney-general-drug-sentences-need-reform-too-many-in-prison/

"In an interview earlier this week with National Public Radio, US Attorney General Eric Holder publicly acknowledged the obvious:

-There are too many citizens in prison on low level drug charges

-The mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines employed by the federal government should be reformed

-The inherent outcome of the federal criminal justice system affirms serious racial disparities exist

yes-we-cannabis

Holder: “The war on drugs is now 30, 40 years old. There have been a lot of unintended consequences. There’s been a decimation of certain communities, in particular communities of color.”

“[W]e can certainly change our enforcement priorities, and so we have some control in that way,” Holder said. “How we deploy our agents, what we tell our prosecutors to charge, but I think this would be best done if the executive branch and the legislative branch work together to look at this whole issue and come up with changes that are acceptable to both...”

 

[Livinginthealps]

Eric Holder May Release Sweeping Drug Sentencing Proposal, Admits Current Practices Are Discriminatory

Attorney General Eric Holder is rumored to be proposing major reforms to drug sentencing in the coming weeks, and if a Wednesday interview with NPR is any indication, the changes could signal a pivot from the aggressive policies embraced by the Justice Department.

"I think there are too many people in jail for too long, and for not necessarily good reasons," Holder said in the interview, turning from the department's highly criticized crackdown on drug law enforcement. As NPR noted, almost half of the people in federal prison are serving time for drug charges.

"The war on drugs is now 30, 40 years old," he continued. "There have been a lot of unintended consequences. There's been a decimation of certain communities, in particular communities of color."

Holder hinted in the interview that the changes could include better prioritization of federal law enforcement and shortened sentences for minor drug offenses. According to NPR, Holder could announce his proposal as early as next week in a speech to the American Bar Association in San Francisco.

While Holder and the Obama administration have drawn criticism for publicly embracing a laissez-faire approach to marijuana laws but cracking down anyway, some observers believe this proposal for reform could be genuine.

"The country is in a bipartisan moment [in regard to drug policy] that makes major criminal justice reform possible," Bill Piper, Director of National Affairs of the Drug Policy Alliance, told The Huffington Post. "You see it with bipartisan bills in Congress and bipartisan calls for sentencing reform. There's an opportunity that the administration realizes it can take advantage of, and I hope that they do."

Indeed, bills like the Smarter Sentencing Act, which would lower mandatory minimums in sentencing, and the Justice Safety Valve Act, which would grant judges more leniency in imposing lesser sentences, were both introduced by bipartisan authors.

Piper also hopes the time might be right to address federal recommendations for marijuana law enforcement.

"They've been mentioning new recommendations on marijuana for the past year," said Piper. "They've been slow on it for certain, but that is undoubtedly connected to drug policy. This would be a good time to address both."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/08/08/eric-holder-drug-sentencing_n_3727389.html

 

[23536]

One person in jail for drugs is too many.

 

[Livinginthealps]

THIS^
I'm glad the attorney general is taking the next step to change mandatory minimums and reform the way people are sentenced for non dangerous drug crimes.

 

[oldirtybizza]

One person in jail for drugs is too many.

Don't you realise that drugs themselves are a jail, they stop people from realising their true potential to participate fully in a society dedicated to consumption and the attaining of fiat currency without any intrinsic value.

But seriously I can't agree more, if Al Qaeda can break their homeys out of prison, so can we.

 

[BlueHues]

Criminals belong in prison. Drugs corrupt society and kill our children everyday...blah

 

[Thorns Have Roses]

I must admit I'm surprised to see someone so high up say this.

 

[kaywholed]

One person in jail for drugs is too many.

That is a shitty opinion man.

I think people that knowingly and repeatedly sell dangerous drugs that hurt people (bad/dirty cuts or the wrong shit) should go to jail.

 

[Madhatter4]

Here is a link to a great website that covers all aspects of mandatory minimum laws both federal and state http://www.famm.org/

 

[23536]

That is a shitty opinion man.

I think people that knowingly and repeatedly sell dangerous drugs that hurt people (bad/dirty cuts or the wrong shit) should go to jail.

I've heard this before. My response is always that you don't need drug laws to help you prosecute real crime. If someone mislabels a product, you can charge him with fraud. If someone puts out a poisonous product, there are various things you can charge him with.

I don't understand why nobody uses aikido in MMA. That shit is deadly if you do it right.