Mandatory Minimums
AG Sessions Maps How Feds Will Fight Violent Crime, Drugs
In a March 15 session with law enforcement officials in Richmond, Virginia, U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions outlined the administration’s plans to combat what he described as the beginning of an increase in the nation’s rate of violent crime. Breaking sharply from the Obama administration’s stand, Sessions said he plans to bring back aggressive…
Read MoreWhat Maryland is missing from the recidivism puzzle: mandatory minimum sentencing
By Christopher Zoukis Maryland incarceration rates have been steadily growing in recent years, as has the average sentence length. In response, The Justice Reinvestment Coordinating Council, made up of judges, lawyers, law enforcement, and lawmakers, was struck earlier this year to explore the reasons behind the booming prison population, and they are set to put forth…
Read MoreDrugs minus two equals the release of 6,000 inmates
The end of October will herald new beginnings for roughly 6,000 inmates whose sentences have been reduced under changes to federal sentencing guidelines. While it might be tempting to attribute these changes to Obama’s push this last year for prison reform, these policy changes stem from wheels set into motion quite some time ago. Under…
Read MoreMandatory minimum sentencing: A tragedy of comedic proportions
Just as Obama did with his landmark speech at the NAACP several weeks ago, comedian and host of Last Week TonightJon Oliver has thrust the issue of mandatory minimum sentencing into the spotlight of public discourse. In a segment both critically astute and emotionally wrenching, Oliver demonstrated that comedians are amongst those taking most seriously…
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