Pubdate: Tue, 13 Aug 2013
Source: Washington Post (DC)
Copyright: 2013 The Washington Post Company
Contact: http://mapinc.org/url/mUgeOPdZ
Website: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/491
Authors: Sari Horwitz and Matt Zapotosky
Page: A3

HOLDER'S ORDER TARGETS PACKED PRISONS

Justice Disparities 'Shameful'

Mandatory Minimums for Fewer Drug Offenders

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s proposed prison reforms drew 
praise from criminal justice experts Monday, but some critics said 
the proposals do not go far enough to begin overhauling a costly and 
broken law enforcement system.

In an effort to reduce the population of the nation's overflowing 
federal prisons, Holder directed his 94 U.S. attorneys across the 
country to stop charging lowlevel, nonviolent drug offenders with 
offenses that impose severe mandatory sentences.

The disparities in the criminal justice system unfairly hit poor and 
minority communities the hardest, Holder said in a speech at the 
annual meeting of the American Bar Association in San Francisco. 
Holder cited a recent "deeply troubling report" that indicates that 
black male offenders have received sentences nearly 20 percent longer 
than those imposed on white males convicted of similar crimes.

"This isn't just unacceptable," Holder said. "It is shameful."

Many of Holder's proposals, which are aimed at saving tens of 
millions in prison costs, have bipartisan support, and the Obama 
administration does not expect them to be politically controversial. 
In fact, there is strong conservative backing for reforming prisons 
and mandatory minimum laws, and Republican governors in some of the 
most conservative states have led the way on prison reform.

In Congress, both Republican and Democratic leaders have introduced 
legislation aimed at giving federal judges more discretion in 
applying mandatory minimums to certain drug offenders.

Laura W. Murphy, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's 
Washington Legislative Office, said the ACLU is "thrilled" by Holder's actions.

"These policies will make it more likely that wasteful and harmful 
federal prison overcrowding will end," Murphy said.

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) said he was heartened by the Obama 
administration's willingness to review mandatory minimum sentencing. 
But Sen. Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), said the law should be changed 
only in conjunction with Congress.

"The overreach by the administration to unilaterally decide which 
laws to enforce and which laws to ignore is a disturbing trend," Grassley said.

Holder cited figures that show the federal prison population has 
grown almost 800 percent since 1980. "With an outsized, unnecessarily 
large prison population, we need to ensure that incarceration is used 
to punish, deter and rehabilitate, not merely to warehouse and 
forget," he said.

Lawyers across the Washington region said many questions remain about 
how Holder's proposals will be implemented.

Matt Kaiser, a former public defender in Greenbelt and an adjunct 
professor of law at Georgetown University, applauded Holder for 
talking about "mass in car ceration."

"The problem is that when you look at why we have so many people in 
prison - especially at the federal level - what he is proposing is 
not likely to . . . reduce those numbers," Kaiser said.

Ronald C. Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, 
said his office is evaluating when it is appropriate to seek a 
mandatory minimum sentence.

"We look forward to implementing the Department's new guidance in a 
manner that conserves our resources so that we can best confront our 
most pressing and persistent public safety challenges," Machen said 
in a statement.

Jeffrey Zimmerman, an Alexandria defense lawyer, said Holder's memo 
had "rocketed around the defense community" and could undercut an 
argument prosecutors often make in negotiating plea deals - that 
their hands are tied by "office policy."

Zimmerman said that while the policy change probably would not affect 
those already sentenced, it would put the brakes on defendants about 
to agree to plea deals that might bind them to mandatory minimum terms.

Michael Nachmanoff, the federal public defender for the Eastern 
District of Virginia, said he initially was encouraged by Holder's 
guidance. Still, Nachmanoff said, he remained skeptical of whether 
the directive actually would restrain prosecutors in deciding how to 
charge their cases.

"There's a real difference between general guidance from the attorney 
general and actually taking actions on the ground," Nachmanoff said. 
"Mandatory minimums are a very powerful tool for federal prosecutors."

Julie Stewart, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said 
that Holder's proposals are a "great step in the right direction" but 
added that "what's being proposed here is very modest."

"These are minor tweaks compared to the major overhauls we've seen 
enacted at the state level," Stewart said.

Indeed, Holder pointed to recent state initiatives as models for 
significant national prison reform.

In Kentucky, new legislation has reserved prison cells for the most 
serious offenders, instead focusing resources on community 
supervision and other alternatives. The state is projected to reduce 
its prison population by more than 3,000 over the next 10 years, 
saving more than $400 million, according to Justice Department officials.

Investments in drug treatment for nonviolent offenders and changes to 
parole policies in Texas reduced the prison population by more than 
5,000 inmates last year. Similar efforts helped Arkansas reduce its 
prison population by more than 1,400 last year.

Keith Alexander contributed to this report.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom