46K Drugs Prisoners Could Get Reduced Sentences

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http://www.alternet.org/drugs/46k-drugs-prisoners-could-get-reduced-sentences




Today the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted to retroactively apply an amendment approved earlier this year by the U.S. Sentencing Commission that lowers federal guidelines for sentencing persons convicted of drug trafficking offenses. The vote could shorten sentences for tens of thousands of people who are already incarcerated and serving sentences for drug offenses by granting eligible individuals a hearing before a federal judge to evaluate whether their sentence can be reduced to match the reduced guidelines.

The underlying drug guidelines amendment was approved by the U.S. Sentencing Commission and submitted to Congress for review in April. Provided Congress takes no action to disapprove of the drug guidelines amendment before November 1, 2014, it will take effect on that date and courts may then begin considering petitions from incarcerated individuals for sentence reductions. Today's vote allows the drug guidelines amendment to apply retroactively. The U.S. Sentencing Commission ruled that no one who benefits from this reform may be released from prison before November 1, 2015.

Today's decision reflects efforts underway in Congress and by the Obama administration to reform federal drug sentencing laws, as well as a broader effort to adapt federal policy to overwhelming public support for reforming drug laws, ending marijuana prohibition, and reducing collateral consequences of a drug conviction. In 2010 Congress unanimously passed legislation reducing the crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. Bipartisan legislation reforming mandatory minimum sentencing, the Smarter Sentencing Act, has already passed out of committee this year and is awaiting a floor vote in the Senate. Attorney General Eric Holder has made numerous changes this year, including directing U.S. Attorneys to charge certain drug offenders in a way that ensures they won't be subject to punitive mandatory minimum sentencing.

In just the past two months, the U.S. House of Representatives has voted to block the Drug Enforcement Administration from spending federal funds to undermine state medical marijuana laws and state hemp cultivation laws, and voted on Wednesday to allow banking institutions to accept deposits from marijuana stores and dispensaries in states that regulate marijuana. On Monday, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy that expressed strong opposition to a House Republican amendment by Rep. Andy Harris (R-MD) directed at blocking implementation of a recent law the District of Columbia passed replacing jail time for possessing small amounts of marijuana for personal use with a small fine. The statement calls marijuana reform a "states' rights" issue, a groundbreaking policy position for the White House to take.

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1. Drug Sentences Can Be Cut Retroactively, U.S. Agency Say

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-07-18/drug-sentences-can-be-cut-retroactively-u-s-agency-say.html

Federal drug offenders may get their sentences cut by almost a fifth under changes to U.S. guidelines in a move praised by Attorney General Eric Holder, who has made fairness in sentencing and prison overcrowding two of his signature issues.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission today voted unanimously to allow some convicts to return to court and seek shorter terms, according to a commission statement. The commission, which has the legal power to permit judges to act retroactively, said offenders eligible for reductions could see their sentences cut by an average of 25 months, or 18.8 percent.

“This is a milestone in the effort to make more efficient use of our law enforcement resources and to ease the burden on our overcrowded prison system,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.

Holder said last year that low-level, nonviolent drug offenders would no longer be charged with federal crimes that impose strict, mandatory minimum sentences.

[Mnemosyne]

2. K&R for more visibility. nt

[Heidi]

3. Kick and

!

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4. MISS HEIDI!

i'm practicing for my neighborhood Dance Recital

[Comrade Grumpy]

5. This is big time good news.

Drug prisoners account for half of all federal prisoners.

State prison populations have begun to decline because of sentencing reforms, but not the federal system.

This will make a dent.