Obama to Commute Sentences for 8 in Crack Cocaine Cases

[alp227]

Last edited Thu Dec 19, 2013, 04:25 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: NYT

President Obama, expanding his push to curtail severe penalties for drug offenses, is expected on Thursday to commute the sentences of eight federal inmates who were convicted of crack cocaine offenses. Each inmate has been imprisoned for at least 15 years, and six were sentenced to life in prison.

It would be the first time retroactive relief was provided to a group of inmates who most likely would have received significantly shorter terms if they had been sentenced under current drug laws, sentencing rules and charging policies.

Most of the eight would be released in 120 days.

In a statement prepared for release when the commutations are announced, Mr. Obama said that each of the eight men and women had been sentenced under what is now recognized as an “unfair system,” including under a 100-to-1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses that was significantly reduced by the Fair Sentencing Act of 2011.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/20/us/obama-commuting-sentences-in-crack-cocaine-cases.html?pagewanted=all

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White House Statements & Releases

[polichick]

1. That's a start - hope he does a lot more...

So sad how many are in jail for drugs.

[billhicks76]

21. Pardon All Non-Violent Drug Offenders

This would help the economy and help us move away from this awful paradigm.

[polichick]

24. That would be great!

[alfie]

2. Oh geeze...Fox is gonna go bonkers over this one!

The headline is all they will report. They will leave off any details about how unfair the sentencing was or that the prisoners had each served for 15 years already.

[progressoid]

10. Yep.

"HE'S SOFT ON CRIME!!!"

[Jesus Malverde]

3. People convicted of cannabis offenses...they can do their time...nt

[Phlem]

6. I know right!

shit's fucked up.



-p

[eggplant]

7. The perfect is the enemy of the good.

Be happy for those eight, and *then* be vigilant for the rest.

[Phlem]

11. I don't think we were expecting perfect. Just

A little less hypocrisy, maybe sometime in the near future. Cause if had my fill.

-p

[Chakab]

4. He should do it for everybody convicted of possessing crack, and the sentencing disparity between

crack and powder cocaine should have been eliminated completely not just reduced. Crack is not a different drug. It's cocaine mixed with inert substances in order to solidify the cocaine and facilitate smoking. If anything, any quantity of crack sold on the street will generally contain less actual cocaine than the same quantity of powder cocaine.


Since there are some simpletons on DU, I'll state clearly that I'm not defending crack or crack usage. Cocaine is a nasty drug irrespective of the method of consumption. My point is that the disparity in treatment between people smoke cocaine rather than snorting it needs to end. It has been one of the biggest farces in the history of criminal "justice."

[freshwest]

5. Holder has been working on that disparity for a long time to change things. It was racist, IMO.

[billhicks76]

22. Mandatory Minimums

At least Holder gave a good speech about ending mandatory minimums for drug cases. But they need action and also to address the problem with state laws too

[freshwest]

25. Every state has its own set of reactionary jerks who think this is fine. It takes the voters to stop

the state laws. The federal mandatory minimums are losing favor and the entire process has been skewed against minorities and the poor for generations.

The DOJ website has had updates on what Holder has managed to change and he and Biden both have been working on these issues.

Many states cut funds to public defenders offices decades ago which resulted in pleas deals forced on people who could not afford private representation. That process of persuasion to states has not ended since the first months of 2009.

Blocking Obama's nominees for courts have played a part in denying repeals and hearings across the nation to debate these in court.

Billionaire owned media won't report those efforts. It is mostly about people of color for the most part, and poor for the rest, and the media doesn't consider them human.

[heaven05]

8. yeah

Siegelman next? Hope so.

[Comrade Grumpy]

9. It's a first step, as Obama acknowledged:

"Commuting the sentences of these eight Americans is an important step toward restoring fundamental ideals of justice and fairness," the president said. "But it must not be the last. In the new year, lawmakers should act on the kinds of bipartisan sentencing reform measures already working their way through Congress. Together, we must ensure that our taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, and that our justice system keeps its basic promise of equal treatment for all."

There is a hearing right now in the Senate Judiciary Committee on three sentencing reform bills.

[Cha]

12. Good start, Pres Obama..

"Commuting the sentences of these eight Americans is an important step toward restoring fundamental ideals of justice and fairness," the president said. "But it must not be the last. In the new year, lawmakers should act on the kinds of bipartisan sentencing reform measures already working their way through Congress. Together, we must ensure that our taxpayer dollars are spent wisely, and that our justice system keeps its basic promise of equal treatment for all."

GOTV 2014!

thank you, alp~

[mahannah]

13. It is a beginning, but just that.

[Tx4obama]

14. 3,000+ inmates serving life without parole for drug, property and other nonviolent crimes as of 2012

Obama Commutes Sentences Of 8 Inmates Convicted Of Crack Offenses

President Barack Obama on Thursday commuted the sentences of eight federal inmates who were convicted of crack cocaine offenses, greatly expanding his use of the presidential clemency power to help those incarcerated because of harsh drug laws.

In a statement, Obama said they’d been sentenced under an “unfair system.” In 2011, Congress passed a law that effectively reduced the federal government’s mandatory penalties for people convicted of crack offenses, but commuting the sentences represents the first time the reform has been applied to those convicted before it was adopted. “If they had been sentenced under the current law, many of them would have already served their time and paid their debt to society,” Obama explained in the statement.

Three of the inmates -- Reynolds Wintersmith Jr., Clarence Aaron and Stephanie George -- were featured in a recent report by the American Civil Liberties Union about the thousands of people serving life in prison for nonviolent offenses. The report, which received attention from a range of media outlets, including The Huffington Post, revealed that more than 3,000 inmates were serving life without parole for drug, property and other nonviolent crimes as of 2012, comprising about 6 percent of the total life-without-parole population.

-snip-

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/19/obama-pardon-crack-cocaine_n_4474876.html

[mucifer]

27. that's just sick.

[former9thward]

15. Well Done.

Anyone charged with non-violent drug crimes should be released.

[Bigmack]

20. Totally agree

Unless it can be CLEARLY shown that a dealer was preying on young people….except of course for dealing cannabis, which is probably less harmful than alcohol! Ms Bigmack

[Ash_F]

16. It's a start

Well done, President.

[yurbud]

17. How about Don Siegelman?

[KamaAina]

19. My first thought as well.

[yurbud]

23. Dems have a remarkably poor track record of responding to GOP dirty tricks

[KamaAina]

18. And thirteen others, none of whom is named "Don Siegelman"

[Tx4obama]

26. Kick n/t

[Coyotl]

28. K&R

[Coyotl]

29. Hopefully this is a trial balloon for some far more substantial correction of injustices.

Obama Commutes Eight Draconian Crack-Cocaine Sentences
Read more: http://billmoyers.com/2013/12/19/obama-commutes-eight-draconian-crack-cocaine-sentences/

A report issued last week by the Department of Justice’s Inspector General found that the federal prison population has increased so rapidly over the past dozen years that the high costs of housing all of those convicts is draining the agency’s budgets for fighting crime, combatting terrorism and protecting Americans’ civil rights.

The US leads the world in imprisoning its citizens, and one of the reasons for that are our long mandatory minimum sentences for those caught up in the drug war. Awareness of the costs of these policies — in human as well as budgetary terms — has been increasing in recent years. In 2010, Congress passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which addressed a significant disparity in the punishments meted out for those possessing crack and powder cocaine. Earlier this year, Attorney General Eric Holder issued new prosecutorial guidelines in an effort to cut down on the number of nonviolent drug offenders facing long periods of incarceration.

Today, Charlie Savage reports for The New York Times that the Obama administration offered some immediate relief to some of those people serving sentences that are disproportionate to their crimes. Savage writes: ...........

[Tx4obama]

30. Kick n/t