National

New Sentencing Guidelines Could Shorten Drug Sentences for Tens of Thousands of People Currently in Federal Prison


U.S. Sentencing Commission Reforms Take Effect on Saturday; Change is Latest Step to Reduce Mass Incarceration and Scale Back Failed Drug War  

Washington, D.C. –(ENEWSPF)—October 30, 2014. On Saturday, November 1, changes to federal drug sentencing guidelines take effect and courts may begin considering petitions from incarcerated individuals for sentencing reductions. Thousands of people who are currently serving long, punitive drug-related sentences in federal prisons could be eligible to apply, although no one who benefits from this reform may be released for another year, or prior to November 1, 2015.

The changes taking effect on Saturday follow a July 2014 vote by the United States Sentencing Commission to retroactively apply an amendment approved by the same government panel in April 2014 that lowers federal guidelines for sentencing people convicted of drug trafficking. Beginning on Saturday, federal judges may begin referencing the reduced guidelines in the course of sentencing people convicted of drug trafficking and individuals who were sentenced under the old drug sentencing guidelines may begin petitioning a federal judge for a hearing to evaluate whether their sentence can be shortened to match the reduced guidelines. The underlying drug guidelines amendment that shortened the length of drug sentencing guidelines was approved by the United States Sentencing Commission and submitted to Congress for review in April.  Congress has taken no action to disapprove of these reforms to the drug guidelines, setting the stage for these reforms to take effect on Saturday.  

“It makes little sense, of course, to reform harsh sentencing laws proactively but not retroactively,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance.  “But that’s what politicians do when they’re scared of allowing people out of prison early.  The Sentencing Commission really had no choice but to rectify the moral absurdity of keeping people locked up based on sentences that are no longer the law.  What they did was right and just.”

The U.S. Sentencing Commission’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 six 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 has voted to allow banking institutions to accept deposits from marijuana stores and dispensaries in states that regulate marijuana.   

According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission and a recent report by the Congressional Research Service, mandatory minimums have significantly contributed to overcrowding and racial disparities in the Bureau of Prisons (BOP). The BOP operates at nearly 140 percent capacity – and is on track to use one-third of the Justice Department’s budget.  More than half of the prisoners in the BOP are serving time for a drug law violation. Even though African-Americans are no more likely than white people to use or sell drugs, evidence shows they are far more likely to be prosecuted for drug law violations and far more likely to receive longer sentences than white people. With less than five percent of the world’s population – but nearly 25 percent of the world’s incarcerated population – the U.S. leads the world in locking up its own citizens. 

DPA Media Relations Manager Anthony Papa, who served 12 years in prison on a nonviolent drug offense, says that the retro-application of the guidelines is an “important step toward undoing some of the worst harms of the drug war by allowing people to be reunited with their families.”

Source: www.drugpolicy.org


ARCHIVES