Attorney General Eric Holder is set to announce a major shift in federal criminal policy on Monday, overturning the decades-old "mandatory minimum prison sentences" for low-level, nonviolent drug offenders, a hallmark of President Ronald Reagan's War on Drugs.
Under the new policy, prosecutors would send fewer drug offenders to federal prison for long sentences, while judges would have more discretion in sentencing.
"Too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no good law enforcement reason," Holder plans to say in a speech to the American Bar Association in San Francisco.
Describing his new approach as "Smart on Crime," Holder contends the current laws exacerbate "a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality and incarceration" that "traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities."
"By targeting the most serious offenses, prosecuting the most dangerous criminals, directing assistance to crime 'hot spots,' and pursuing new ways to promote public safety, deterrence, efficiency and fairness — we can become both smarter and tougher on crime," he will say.Holder will also voice support for bipartisan legislative efforts in Congress and on the state level aimed at reducing the use of mandatory minimum sentences and expanding the use of diversion programs in an effort to reduce the U.S. prison population.
“Today, a vicious cycle of poverty, criminality and incarceration traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities,” Holder said in remarks prepared for the American Bar Association conference where he will outline his proposals. “However, many aspects of our criminal justice system may actually exacerbate this problem, rather than alleviate it.”
Via: Newsmax
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