Pubdate: Thu, 12 Nov 2009
Source: Wall Street Journal (US)
Page: A6
Copyright: 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
Contact:  http://www.wsj.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/487
Author: Gary Fields
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)

U.S. COMMISSION TO ASSESS MANDATORY SENTENCES

WASHINGTON -- Congress has ordered the panel that advises judges on 
prison terms to conduct a review of mandatory-minimum sentences, a 
move that could lead to a dramatic rethinking of how the U.S. 
incarcerates its criminals.

The review is a little-noticed element of the National Defense 
Authorization Act signed into law last month by President Barack 
Obama. The defense-spending bill calls on the commission to perform 
several tasks, including an examination of the impact of 
mandatory-minimum sentencing laws and alternatives to the practice.

Congress in the 1980s began passing mandatory-minimum laws, which 
dictate the minimum sentence a judge must hand out for a particular 
crime. Among the results were longer sentences, increased prison 
populations and ballooning budgets.

Amid cost concerns in recent years, states have tried to reverse the 
trend. At least 26 states have cut corrections spending recently and 
at least 17 are closing prisons or reducing their inmate populations, 
according to the Vera Institute of Justice, a New York nonprofit that 
studies sentencing and criminal-justice policies.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which advises judges on all other 
sentences, has now been charged with issuing recommendations on 
mandatory minimums. Any final change in sentencing law would have to 
come from Congress.

"It's going to be a massive undertaking," said the new chairman of 
the Sentencing Commission, William Sessions III.

Mr. Sessions, who is also the chief federal judge in Vermont, said 
the review would include everything from determining the effects of 
minimums on the size of the prison population, to spending and the 
social impact of the policies. "In my view," he said, "it's a very 
open-ended request."

The inmate population in federal prisons has risen from 24,000 in 
1980 to 209,000 as of Nov. 5. Over the same period, the federal 
Bureau of Prisons staff has grown from 10,000 to about 36,000 employees.

The commission has pushed for changes in mandatory minimums, such as 
ending the disparity in sentencing for crimes involving crack-cocaine 
and powder cocaine. Several proposals are pending in Congress to 
address the crack-cocaine issue. But the commission has not done a 
full-scale examination of federal sentencing laws since 1991. At the 
time, there were only 60 mandatory-minimum laws on the books. Now 
there are about 170.

According to a limited review released by the commission in July, 
most mandatory-minimum cases in 2008 concerned drugs or weapons 
crimes. The review found that 21,023 offenders were convicted of 
crimes that could have triggered the mandatory-minimum sentence. Many 
got more lenient sentences for a variety of reasons, including 
cooperation with authorities.

The commission will examine the effects of mandatory minimums on plea 
agreements. Critics of the system say the threat of such sentences is 
used to coerce plea bargains.

Members of the commission have been traveling the country to meet 
with judges, prosecutors and defense attorneys. Many have pressed the 
commission to provide alternatives to imprisonment for nonviolent, 
low-level drug defendants.

James Pasco, executive director of the Fraternal Order of Police, the 
nation's largest law-enforcement labor organization, said officers 
believed it was appropriate to review the system. But he said it 
shouldn't happen "in a way that will result in criminals not being 
held accountable."

Mary Price, vice president and general counsel for Families Against 
Mandatory Minimums, said it was too early to tell where the review might lead.

"Certainly from FAMM's perspective, as much information as the 
commission can provide on the operation and impact of mandatory 
minimums can only help us better understand and advocate for their 
elimination." 
- ---
MAP posted-by: Richard Lake