 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
The nation's state and federal prison and local jail population has exceeded two million for the first time in history. Someone convicted of a crime today is far more likely to be incarcerated, and will spend a longer period in prison, than in past decades. The increasing incarceration rate is not evidence of rising crime. Instead, it's a reflection of more stringent sentencing laws and policies, including mandatory minimum sentences. A mandatory minimum sentence is a prison term set by Congress, and is the minimum penalty that a judge must impose. Such sentences prohibit judges from using their discretion to consider the minor role of an individual in a case, requiring them to sentence both major and minor actors the same way.
One can escape a mandatory minimum sentence by providing "substantial assistance" to the prosecution. But, minor actors rarely have valuable information to provide and, as such, have received sentences higher than major players. The premise of mandatory sentencing laws is that punishment and incarceration, not rehabilitation, is the primary goal of criminal sentencing. Cocaine sentences are one such example. Despite government statistics documenting greater numbers of white crack users, the majority of those sentenced for federal crack offenses are African American. And, crack cocaine sentences are 100 times more severe than sentences for powder cocaine.
OSPC works in coalition with other advocacy groups seeking sentencing reform. OSPC supports a comprehensive re-examination of the sentencing policies of the past twenty years to transform the current punitive model to one that is rehabilitative, just, and sound. OSPC supports the American Bar Association's (ABA) recent recommendations calling for the abolition of mandatory minimum sentences. OSPC representatives testified before the ABA's Justice Kennedy Commission, advancing a novel approach to eliminate the disparity in penalty between crack and powder cocaine.
OSPC supports fair equalization of cocaine sentencing, sensible judicial discretion, and abolition of all mandatory penalties. As the judiciary and legislature respond to uncertainties in current federal sentencing practices, OSPC advocates for a careful, deliberate analysis and approach to sentencing, so that attempts at reform do not result in unintended consequences.
|
|
|
|
|
