Holder: Some Drug Offneders Shouldn't Face Mandatory Minimum Sentences

[MJS]

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...houldnt-face-mandatory-minimum-sentences?lite

WASHINGTON D.C. - Attorney General Eric Holder is directing federal prosecutors to change they way they file charges for some drug crimes, to reduce the number of convictions for offenses that carry inflexible, mandatory minimum sentences.
The new policy involves the prosecution of low-level, non-violent drug offenders who have no ties to gangs, cartels or other large-scale organizations. They will be charged with offenses that — like those for most crimes — specify a range of months or years, allowing judges to decide sentence length.
In remarks prepared for delivery Monday to the annual meeting of the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates in San Francisco, Holder says the goal is to reserve the most severe penalties for serious, high-level, or violent drug traffickers.

Thoughts?

 

[Tgace]

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/201...houldnt-face-mandatory-minimum-sentences?lite



Thoughts?

As written I have no problem with it...whats between the lines I'd like to know.....

 

[arnisador]

Mandatory minimum sentences, like zero tolerance policies, remove the all-important element of judgment. I'm for more flexibility here--yes, try to keep it fair between judges, but let them judge.

 

[James Kovacich]

That's one way to help the over crowded prisons...but if they let people completely off the hook there will be problems.

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[Touch Of Death]

That's one way to help the over crowded prisons...but if they let people completely off the hook there will be problems.

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You can't afford to jail all the undesirables.

 

[Big Don]

You can't afford to jail all the undesirables.

You could if the government had the testicular fortitude to read the thirteenth amendment:

Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.
Section 2. Congress shall have power to enforce this article by appropriate legislation

Rent the non-violent felons out as cheap (under minimum wage) labor provided they are strapped with a GPS tracker and accompanied by a paid, armed guard.

 

[granfire]

You could if the government had the testicular fortitude to read the thirteenth amendment:

Rent the non-violent felons out as cheap (under minimum wage) labor provided they are strapped with a GPS tracker and accompanied by a paid, armed guard.

LOL, Chain gangs...they tried that....you must have missed the uproar....

 

[Touch Of Death]

You could if the government had the testicular fortitude to read the thirteenth amendment:

Rent the non-violent felons out as cheap (under minimum wage) labor provided they are strapped with a GPS tracker and accompanied by a paid, armed guard.

Slavery is cool. Just make sure you pay them 50 cents or so an hour to keep the morality police off your back.

 

[jks9199]

I'm just curious how many offenders this is actually going to effect... The feds don't generally get involved in "little" drug cases unless there's a gang tie or some other reason to really pique their interest...

 

[arnisador]

Rent the non-violent felons out as cheap (under minimum wage) labor provided they are strapped with a GPS tracker and accompanied by a paid, armed guard.

Leaving aside everything else that's crazy about your post, paying one guard per prisoner for someone doing low-wage labor is pretty sorry economics.

 

[Tgace]

I'm just curious how many offenders this is actually going to effect... The feds don't generally get involved in "little" drug cases unless there's a gang tie or some other reason to really pique their interest...

Very true. Not a lot of USADA's taking on user level offenses.....

 

[Big Don]

Slavery is cool. Just make sure you pay them 50 cents or so an hour to keep the morality police off your back.

Unnecessary, the thirteenth amendment clearly states slavery and forced labor are completely legal when applied to convicted criminals.

 

[MJS]

As written I have no problem with it...whats between the lines I'd like to know.....

And I'm sure there is a ton of stuff between the lines. IMO, there should be some sort of punishment. As for rehab...LOL...sorry, I have to laugh at that, because not only did I see numerous repeat offenders cycle thru the system when I was in the DOC, I feel that rehab will only work if the person wants it to. Hell, look at some of the 'stars' out there, that have gone thru rehab. They're still messed up..lol.

 

[MJS]

You could if the government had the testicular fortitude to read the thirteenth amendment:

Rent the non-violent felons out as cheap (under minimum wage) labor provided they are strapped with a GPS tracker and accompanied by a paid, armed guard.

IMO, I think they should bring back things like that. The typical bleeding heart will cry foul and say that a chain gang is wrong, that its slavery, blah, blah. I call BS on that. Maybe some hard labor, mixed in with doing something constructive, will make these poor prisoners hate prison so much, they'll do a lifechange and maybe become somewhat of a productive citizen when they get out.

 

[crushing]

You can't afford to jail all the undesirables.

The prison-industrial complex certainly welcomes (euphemism for 'lobbies for') the attempt.

 

[ballen0351]

Besides the obvious that these are min sentences and by the time your getting to the fed system your not getting the min sentence unless part of a plea agreement.
I wonder if holder has that authority. Min mandatory was written into the law by congress does the Atty general have the power to change the law?

 

[punisher73]

I see it as a response to the movie "Snitch" with Dwayne "the Rock" Johnson. It was supposedly based on a true story. To sum it up, the kid (who has never been in trouble) has a friend mail a package of drugs to him that he is going to pick up later. Friend gets busted at the post office and rats out the kid and says that he's the dealer. Kid gets busted right after he gets the package and is going to prison under the "Mandatory minimum" unless he rats out who the dealers are to cut a deal.

The idea behind it was to give a harsh strict sentence in exchange for other dealers and then move up the food chain to get the top guys. But, like all inflexible zero tolerance ideas, you will get some people caught in the net that don't fit what it was designed to do.

 

[punisher73]

Just a clarification on my last post. I think the movie was a catalyst for people to become more aware of the problems with mandatory sentencing, not that Holder's response was because of a movie. Just something that got the discussion more in the public eye.

 

[James Kovacich]

I'm just curious how many offenders this is actually going to effect... The feds don't generally get involved in "little" drug cases unless there's a gang tie or some other reason to really pique their interest...

It wont help for years to come because everyone already sentenced have to serve their time.

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[ballen0351]

It wont help for years to come because everyone already sentenced have to serve their time.

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I think he was referring to the number of people actually getting the min sentence. Which is very few. Before a US Attorney will even take a case you better have a lot more then what is needed for min sentence. Most people getting min sentence are due to a plea deal so they can avoid ALOT more time. Its pretty rare for someone to get the min that's not part of a deal. I spent 5 years in a fed drug task force and I can't recall any that went to trial and only got the min mandatory.