Kiriakou writes: "The United States already has 25 percent of the world's
prison population. The country desperately needs sentencing reform. The
system cries out for it."
Senator Harry Reid. (photo: Getty Images)
The Police Are Right About One Thing: Sentencing Reform
By John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News
17 July 16
Law enforcement organizations are calling on both major presidential
candidates to publicly support an overhaul of the criminal justice system -
including sentencing reform - to reduce crime and to improve relations
between police and citizens. The announcement comes in the aftermath of
repeated failed attempts in Congress to pass comprehensive sentencing reform
legislation.
Civil liberties groups have long sought comprehensive sentencing reform.
They thought they had a real chance in 2014 when a bipartisan group of
senators, led by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas)
introduced the Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2014 (S. 1675).
The bill easily passed the Judiciary Committee. A similar bill, the Smarter
Sentencing Act of 2013 (S. 1410), also passed committee. Both bills died on
the floor when then-Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) refused to call them
up for a vote. A year later, the new Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.), also refused to allow a vote.
Both bills, which would have eased sentencing guidelines, done away with
mandatory minimum sentences for most drug crimes, and offered incentives for
federal prisoners that would have allowed early release for good behavior
and for taking GED or vocational classes, had the support of groups as
diverse as the American Civil Liberties Union, the conservative Heritage
Foundation, former prosecutors, police and prison guard organizations,
victims' advocates, prominent conservatives, and faith groups.
For many progressives, the unfairness of the current system calls out for
redress. For many conservatives, it simply costs too much to incarcerate so
many people.
Here's how the current system works. Let's say that "James" is involved in a
heroin case along with a group of other people. The charge is conspiracy to
distribute one kilo of heroin. Let's also say that James is a first-time,
nonviolent offender. He has no gun in his case. Because he has no criminal
history, James falls under Criminal History Category Ion the federal
sentencing guidelines chart. Prosecutors prefer not to go to trial. (Indeed,
98.2 percent of all federal inmates take a plea, rather than go to trial,
according to ProPublica.) If James takes a plea, his federal guideline would
put him at a level 25: 57-71 months in prison. But James says he's innocent.
He never imported heroin, and he never sold or used it, although some of his
friends did. He pleads "not guilty," reasoning that a jury will see the
truth. He goes to trial.
Unfortunately, though, when the government claims a "conspiracy," it pretty
much has to prove only that the people involved knew each other, not that
they personally committed each and every crime in the conspiracy. James is
found guilty. When he goes for sentencing, he gets a level 25. But he also
now faces "enhancements." Enhancements are additions to a sentence that are
given for a variety of reasons. James gets an extra two "points," or levels,
for "failure to accept responsibility." (He argued his innocence, after
all.) He gets another two points for "obstruction of justice" because he
wouldn't testify against his co-defendants. Although he's never been
prosecuted for a serious crime before, he did have a DUI in college. That's
an extra four points for "criminal history," even though it doesn't raise
his Criminal History Category to a II. The feds say that because James
didn't pay any federal taxes on the proceeds of the heroin, that's another
two points. At sentencing, instead of the 57-71 months that he might have
gotten (or the 36-48 months he was probably offered as part of a plea deal)
James goes from a level 25 to a level 35, which means 168-210 months. He'll
likely do around 15 years.
This happens every day in America, where judges have no concept of time,
prosecutors get promoted based on their success in putting people in prison,
and Congress has mandated mandatory minimum sentences.
The United States already has 25 percent of the world's prison population.
The country desperately needs sentencing reform. The system cries out for
it. All the relevant associated interest groups support it. The political
will for it exists. Now we need a president to stand up to two intransigent
politicians - McConnell and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the likely successor to
Reid - and to tell him that the country has waited long enough. We need
prison reform now.
________________________________________
John Kiriakou is an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies.
He is a former CIA counterterrorism officer and a former senior investigator
with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
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Senator Harry Reid. (photo: Getty Images)
/SRCURLONE/SRCURLONE
The Police Are Right About One Thing: Sentencing Reform
By John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News
17 July 16
aw enforcement organizations are calling on both major presidential
candidates to publicly support an overhaul of the criminal justice system -
including sentencing reform - to reduce crime and to improve relations
between police and citizens. The announcement comes in the aftermath of
repeated failed attempts in Congress to pass comprehensive sentencing reform
legislation.
Civil liberties groups have long sought comprehensive sentencing reform.
They thought they had a real chance in 2014 when a bipartisan group of
senators, led by Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas)
introduced the Recidivism Reduction and Public Safety Act of 2014 (S. 1675).
The bill easily passed the Judiciary Committee. A similar bill, the Smarter
Sentencing Act of 2013 (S. 1410), also passed committee. Both bills died on
the floor when then-Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) refused to call them
up for a vote. A year later, the new Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell
(R-Ky.), also refused to allow a vote.
Both bills, which would have eased sentencing guidelines, done away with
mandatory minimum sentences for most drug crimes, and offered incentives for
federal prisoners that would have allowed early release for good behavior
and for taking GED or vocational classes, had the support of groups as
diverse as the American Civil Liberties Union, the conservative Heritage
Foundation, former prosecutors, police and prison guard organizations,
victims' advocates, prominent conservatives, and faith groups.
For many progressives, the unfairness of the current system calls out for
redress. For many conservatives, it simply costs too much to incarcerate so
many people.
Here's how the current system works. Let's say that "James" is involved in a
heroin case along with a group of other people. The charge is conspiracy to
distribute one kilo of heroin. Let's also say that James is a first-time,
nonviolent offender. He has no gun in his case. Because he has no criminal
history, James falls under Criminal History Category Ion the federal
sentencing guidelines chart. Prosecutors prefer not to go to trial. (Indeed,
98.2 percent of all federal inmates take a plea, rather than go to trial,
according to ProPublica.) If James takes a plea, his federal guideline would
put him at a level 25: 57-71 months in prison. But James says he's innocent.
He never imported heroin, and he never sold or used it, although some of his
friends did. He pleads "not guilty," reasoning that a jury will see the
truth. He goes to trial.
Unfortunately, though, when the government claims a "conspiracy," it pretty
much has to prove only that the people involved knew each other, not that
they personally committed each and every crime in the conspiracy. James is
found guilty. When he goes for sentencing, he gets a level 25. But he also
now faces "enhancements." Enhancements are additions to a sentence that are
given for a variety of reasons. James gets an extra two "points," or levels,
for "failure to accept responsibility." (He argued his innocence, after
all.) He gets another two points for "obstruction of justice" because he
wouldn't testify against his co-defendants. Although he's never been
prosecuted for a serious crime before, he did have a DUI in college. That's
an extra four points for "criminal history," even though it doesn't raise
his Criminal History Category to a II. The feds say that because James
didn't pay any federal taxes on the proceeds of the heroin, that's another
two points. At sentencing, instead of the 57-71 months that he might have
gotten (or the 36-48 months he was probably offered as part of a plea deal)
James goes from a level 25 to a level 35, which means 168-210 months. He'll
likely do around 15 years.
This happens every day in America, where judges have no concept of time,
prosecutors get promoted based on their success in putting people in prison,
and Congress has mandated mandatory minimum sentences.
The United States already has 25 percent of the world's prison population.
The country desperately needs sentencing reform. The system cries out for
it. All the relevant associated interest groups support it. The political
will for it exists. Now we need a president to stand up to two intransigent
politicians - McConnell and Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), the likely successor to
Reid - and to tell him that the country has waited long enough. We need
prison reform now.
John Kiriakou is an associate fellow with the Institute for Policy Studies.
He is a former CIA counterterrorism officer and a former senior investigator
with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Reader Supported News is the Publication of Origin for this work. Permission
to republish is freely granted with credit and a link back to Reader
Supported News.
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