At one point, recently, there seemed to be growing Congressional support for criminal justice reforms in the United States – and then it hit a roadblock.
Earlier this year a Republican and a Democrat sponsored lengthy sentence reform bills that were expected to come up for a vote by the end of the summer. It was one of those rare and extraordinary circumstances when there was bipartisan support for a political issue, the The New York Times wrote in an editorial.
The bills would “reduce lengthy sentences for many low-level drug offenders and another that would give low-risk inmates credit toward early release if they participate in job training and drug treatment programs,” The Times added.
But the change didn’t happen and now Congressional representatives are looking to 2015 before these bills have any chance of passing.
The delay in getting these bills through Congress results in tens of thousand of federal inmates who have already served years of long sentences “wasting both their lives and taxpayer dollars” sitting in overcrowded prisons with no demonstrable benefit to public safety, The Times reported.
The delay appears due to one factor: old guard stalwarts who refuse to let go of their tough-on-crime mindset.
The Times reported, “In May, three Republican senators — Charles Grassley of Iowa, John Cornyn of Texas and Jeff Sessions of Alabama — came out against the sentencing reductions.” These three argued that mandatory minimums are only used for the highest-level drug traffickers.
The United States Sentencing Commission disputes this assertion. The agency “found that 40 percent of federal drug defendants were couriers or low-level dealers,” The Times said.
“With the exception of some old-line prosecutors and resistant lawmakers, everyone still agrees on the need for extensive reform. The other branches of the federal government have begun to do their part,” reported The Times.
In April, the Obama administration announced it would consider clemency for hundreds, if not thousands, of federal inmates currently serving time under older, harsher drug laws. However, Republicans complained that the president and Attorney General Eric Holder were the main reasons that sentencing reform stalled.
Federal judges across the country have spoken out against the mindlessness of mandatory minimums.
Holder and the sentencing commission have taken multiple steps to reduce the harsh and often racially discriminatory effects of these laws. According to the Times, “The public is on board, too.”
In a “recent Pew survey, 67 percent say the government should focus more on treating drug users than on prosecuting them,” The Times said.
Several members of Congress led by Rand Paul of Kentucky, Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas and Jeff Blake of Arizona are leading the charge for sentence reform. They believe “the need for it has become more urgent,” The Times editorial board wrote.
“States from South Carolina to Ohio to Rhode Island have cut back on mandatory minimums, improved rehabilitation services and reduced their prison populations while seeing crime rates go down, or at least not go up.
“Judicial pronouncements and executive orders only go so far. It is long past time for Congress to do its job and change these outdated, ineffective and unjust laws,” The Times said.