After a federal panel eased penalties for non-violent drug offenders, defense attorneys and prisoner advocates began calling for lighter sentences for white-collar crimes, according to an Associated Press report by Eric Tucker.
Some of these crimes focus on fraud, insider trading and embezzlement.
Attorneys and advocates believe that under current sentencing structures people who have the smallest roles still receive harsh sentences.
In 2013, the American Bar Association forwarded a proposal to the sentencing commission asking that federal judges:
Give more weight to a defendant’s culpability and less to financial loss.
Give thought to a defendant’s sophistication, motive and the duration of the scheme.
According to the AP report, the Justice Department welcomed the review. But progress on the issue will be hampered by an American public still outraged by the corporate bigwigs who they say destroyed the economy.
Still the advocates for changes in sentencing guidelines think the time is right. Some federal judges have begun to show leniency in some of these cases. Plus, the Justice Department must lower the cost of an overcrowded federal prison system.
Advocates see this as a window of opportunity to advance their agenda for new sentencing reform.
