US Reforming Mandatory Drug Sentencing
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder is due to announce a set of reforms reducing the implementation of harsh sentences against low-level, non-violent drug offenders.
In a speech Monday, Holder will address the nation's set of mandatory minimum sentences that grew out of anti-drug legislation in the 1980s.
Those laws impose five-year prison terms for first-time offenders caught with certain amounts of drugs, such as 100 grams of heroin, 500 grams of cocaine powder or 100 kilograms of marijuana. Higher amounts bring 10-year mandatory sentences.
Holder's prepared remarks say offenders will instead be charged with offenses carrying sentences "better suited to their individual conduct" and not that of drug kingpins. He says the current system traps too many Americans in a cycle of poverty and incarceration.
Federal prisons hold more than 219,000 inmates, of which 47 percent are serving time for drug offenses.
Holder will ask federal prosecutors to develop guidelines for determining which cases are lower-level crimes that can be handled with state and local charges, and which are the more serious crimes that should be classified as federal crimes.
He will also endorse efforts in the U.S. Congress to give judges more discretion in sentencing defendants convicted of drug offenses.
The mandatory minimum sentences have drawn criticism for their lack of flexibility, which critics say puts too many people in prison for too long. They also said the original laws had unfair disparities in the amounts of certain drugs that triggered those sentences.
Before a 2010 amendment, five grams of crack cocaine brought the same five-year sentence for first-time offenders as 500 grams of cocaine powder. The new guidelines close that gap to 28 grams of crack cocaine for the same sentence.
The United States Sentencing Commission reported in June that inmates who appealed their sentences to get those new standards applied to their cases have had their terms reduced by an average of 20 percent.
The attorney general says the reforms he is announcing Monday would save the United States billions of dollars.
In addition to altering the guidelines for sentences leading to prison, he wants to encourage the use of alternatives for offenders, including drug treatment and community service. Holder will also announce a policy to reduce sentences for elderly, non-violent inmates.
In a speech Monday, Holder will address the nation's set of mandatory minimum sentences that grew out of anti-drug legislation in the 1980s.
Those laws impose five-year prison terms for first-time offenders caught with certain amounts of drugs, such as 100 grams of heroin, 500 grams of cocaine powder or 100 kilograms of marijuana. Higher amounts bring 10-year mandatory sentences.
Holder's prepared remarks say offenders will instead be charged with offenses carrying sentences "better suited to their individual conduct" and not that of drug kingpins. He says the current system traps too many Americans in a cycle of poverty and incarceration.
Federal prisons hold more than 219,000 inmates, of which 47 percent are serving time for drug offenses.
Holder will ask federal prosecutors to develop guidelines for determining which cases are lower-level crimes that can be handled with state and local charges, and which are the more serious crimes that should be classified as federal crimes.
He will also endorse efforts in the U.S. Congress to give judges more discretion in sentencing defendants convicted of drug offenses.
The mandatory minimum sentences have drawn criticism for their lack of flexibility, which critics say puts too many people in prison for too long. They also said the original laws had unfair disparities in the amounts of certain drugs that triggered those sentences.
Before a 2010 amendment, five grams of crack cocaine brought the same five-year sentence for first-time offenders as 500 grams of cocaine powder. The new guidelines close that gap to 28 grams of crack cocaine for the same sentence.
The United States Sentencing Commission reported in June that inmates who appealed their sentences to get those new standards applied to their cases have had their terms reduced by an average of 20 percent.
The attorney general says the reforms he is announcing Monday would save the United States billions of dollars.
In addition to altering the guidelines for sentences leading to prison, he wants to encourage the use of alternatives for offenders, including drug treatment and community service. Holder will also announce a policy to reduce sentences for elderly, non-violent inmates.
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