Pubdate: Mon, 28 Jul 2014
Source: Dallas Morning News (TX)
Copyright: 2014 The Dallas Morning News, Inc.
Contact: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/send-a-letter/
Website: http://www.dallasnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/117

LOWER SENTENCES FOR DRUGS

Commission Right to Offer Reduced Penalty

America's effort to use our prisons to stem the illegal drug problem 
has largely failed. Incarceration of drug offenders has seen prison 
and jail populations skyrocket, even as public opinion has shifted 
away from harsh sentences for nonviolent drug crimes.

That's why the U.S. Sentencing Commission was right to decide this 
month that some 50,000 federal drug trafficking offenders could be 
eligible for reduced sentences. The amendment to federal sentencing 
guidelines, approved in April, is already in effect for offenders 
facing sentencing in the future, creating an issue of fairness: Why 
should the length of a sentence be determined by the date of sentencing?

The commission's unanimous decision could see inmates get an average 
of two years off their prison terms, according to a report in The 
Washington Post.

America's approach to its drug problem is in evolution. Marijuana is 
now legal for recreational use in Colorado and Washington. Sentences 
for peddling crack cocaine are now no more severe than those for 
peddling powdered cocaine.

Many Americans agree that the nation lost its way with its war on drugs.

Still, the prospect of so many prisoners being released back into 
society properly raised the concern of a large number of prosecutors 
and judges who opposed the commission's decision.

The sentencing commission was sensitive to this concern and set an 
effective date of Nov. 1, 2015, for the release of any prisoner. 
Prisoners may begin applying for sentence reductions in November.

That demonstrated a fair understanding of the complexity of the issue.

The changes apply to traffickers of all drugs, but it's not yet clear 
exactly how many of the estimated 50,000 eligible prisoners will 
actually see their sentences reduced.

Drug offenders will certainly apply for the reductions, but judges 
will still have to determine whether the person is a danger to 
society and should remain imprisoned for the full length of his or 
her original sentence. Judges can also consider how inmates behaved 
after they were sentenced. In other words, those who were violent in 
prison, or continued to deal drugs, or acted as gang leaders 
hopefully won't be roaming the streets sooner than they should.

But thousands, and possibly tens of thousands, of drug offenders who 
the courts decide are not dangerous could be returned to society 
earlier than expected.

There's no doubt that will create a challenge. But there's also 
little doubt that America will not incarcerate itself out of an 
illegal drug problem that has destroyed the fabric of large swaths of 
the country.

Advocates of reform did not get everything they might want from the 
sentencing commission. Mandatory minimum sentences for some drug 
offenses remain in place, for example.

But the amendment to the guidelines does offer judges flexibility to 
review offenders' cases and decide whether they deserve the chance to 
return to society sooner. 
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom