Published January 05, 2014, FoxNews.com
An unusual alliance of leaders in Congress is pursuing major changes in the country’s mandatory sentencing laws. The congressional push comes as President Obama draw attention to the issue of mandatory sentences, particularly for nonviolent drug offenders.
Supporters say mandatory minimum sentences are outdated, arguing that they lump all offenders into one category and rob judges of the ability to use their own discretion. They also cite the high costs of the policies: The Justice Department spends some $6.4 billion, about a quarter of its budget, on prisons each year, and that number is growing steadily.
The yearly cost for one federal inmate ranges from $21,000 to $33,000 depending on the prison’s level of security. About half of the nation’s more than 218,000 federal inmates are serving time for drug crimes — and virtually all of them faced some form of mandatory minimum sentencing.
The Fair Sentencing Act, passed in 2010, drew bipartisan support for cutting penalties on crack cocaine offenses. The bill reduced a disparity between crack-related sentences and sentences for other drugs, though it only addressed new cases, not old ones.
One of that bill’s chief sponsors, has written a much broader bill called the Smarter Sentencing Act. It would expand a so-called safety valve already on the books that gives judges discretion for a limited number of nonviolent drug offenders. The new law would allow judges the same latitude for a larger group of drug offenders facing mandatory sentences.
Senator Leahy has introduced legislation that would expand the safety valve even more, to all federal cases with mandatory sentences if certain conditions are met. Another bill, allows inmates to earn credit for completing programs designed to reduce recidivism.
Leahy’s committee delayed work on the legislation until early 2014 in large part because behind-the-scenes talks are proving fruitful.
A number of outside groups have expressed support for the changes in the law and they run the ideological spectrum.
Commentary: this all good news but as I read the new proposals they simply provide for widening the eligibility of people who can qualify for safety valve consideration. That is not the wholesale or even partial elimination of the mandatory minimum sentences. you still have to earn your way to coming from under the mandatory minimum sentences. Oh, and one more thing. NONE OF THESE BILLS ARE IN EFFECT!!!!!!! NOT in effect. They are just proposals. When they become law you can be sure that To the Point (in Spanish (Al Grano) will let you know.
– David Zapp