US SENTENCING COMMISSION - REQUEST FOR COMMENT

The other day I recieved a news alert from FAMM (Families Against Minimum Mandatory Sentencing). In it Julie Steward, the head of the organization stated "Every year, the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which writes the federal Sentencing Guidelines, suggests changes to the guidelines. These are known as guideline amendments. The process starts when the Commission publishes a list of priorities -- issues it wants to tackle -- and asks the public for feedback on whether that list is right. The Commission published its 2014 list of priorities on May 30. You have until July 15, 2013, to comment on that list."

This morning I sat down and wrote my letter to The Commission and dropped it in the mail slot. Here is my letter to them, urging them to consider, in particular, a few amendments I feel most important.

The United States Sentencing Commission
One Columbus Circle, N.E., Ste 2-500
South Lobby
Washington, D.C. 20002-8002
Attn: Public Affairs -- Priorities Comment.

To The Sentencing Commission,

I respectfully write today to respond to the Commissions request for public comment as regards the list of priorities set forth as relate to the Ammendment cycle ending May 1, 2014. I have a personal interest in this subject matter as my youngest son is just nearing the end of a 12 ½ year sentence for a first time, non-violent marijuana offense. I can’t begin to try to explain how devastating this sentence was, for my son, as well as we his family. But I CAN urge the commission to continue its review of the Mandatory and Minimum Sentencing Guidelines currently in place. The guidelines as set forth have been largely responsible for the massive growth of our prison industrial complex, the failed experiment in mass encarceration, and beyond punitive measures as regards any drug crime.

Like many Americans, too busy caught up in just earning a living, providing for our families, living our daily lives, learning about the Minimum and Mandatory Sentencing guidelines came as a shocking eye opening moment for my husband and I. We’d no idea where our system of justice had evolved to. Our young son had never been in trouble before and for us to grasp that he would be taken from us for 12 ½ years for a first time, non violent marijuana crime was beyond belief. My husband and I decided then and there if our son was to emerge from this journey as unscathed by prison institutionalization and prison life/survival in general, if we had any hopes of seeing the wonderful, smart, funny young man emerge from prison that he was when he went in, we needed to be close by to share our lives on a regular basis. To that end my husband and I both left our longtime jobs, both in Management positions in our firms, to relocate 3 states away, to southern California, to be able to visit him, spend time with him, on a weekly basis. My husband had to return to the job force for financial reasons (this was and continues to be an expensive journey for us all) but I have devoted much time over these years to being in my sons life in every possible way, despite limitations imposed by the BOP as regards visitation, phone, etc. Not many families are able to make the life change that we did, but we felt we had no other choice and have never regretted it, despite its setbacks and separating us from most our extended family all these years, being unable to watch our grandchildren grow up, share in our other son’s life.

Its no secret to us now that the US encarcerates more of its citizens per capita than any other country in the world. American prison sentences are overly lengthy and have contributed to massive prison growth, overcrowding and a spawning of a prison industrial complex that has become more about profits than about justice or keeping society safe. Putting young men and women away for a decade and more, for a first time, non violent drug offense robs them, in more cases than not, of their entire future. I have come to see there is no forgiveness in our system once caught up in the federal criminal system. Following my sons lengthy sentence he will serve 5 years of supervised release. In other words, and as I recall the sentencing Judge say to my son “make no mistake, this is as serious a sentence as the first 12 ½ years that you will spend in prison, it is the second part of your sentence.” In other words, my son is serving a 17 ½ year sentence for a first time, non violent, marijuana offense. It is still astonishing to me to realize this is what our system of justice has come to in America. What we have in place seems like something one would expect to find in a third world country, not in an ‘enlightened’ democracy. President Bush himself has gone on record to say we are a land of second chances. But that simply is not true and it has been devastating to come to this realization.

With a felony on my sons record FOR LIFE, for a marijuana drug offense (not murder, not theft, not a sex crime, none of the violent acts that our system was set up to protect society from) and having lost 10 years now to encarceration, he returns to the world with few skills, and more roadblocks and hurdles than most would ever imagine. The leaps in technology alone stagger the mind! He returns to a very different world than he left 10 years ago. Why on earth do you think our recidivism rate in this country is so high?! My son is an intelligent young man and has earned two associates degrees while serving his time, through distance learning classes my husband and I fortunately could afford to pay for, most families of the encarcerated cannot. This in the hopes it MIGHT help him find a minimum wage job as he seeks to re-enter the job market with a 10 year gap in his employment history, but in this economy even that is unlikely. There will be few employers who will look beyond that gap or his Felony record.

My son has taken full responsibility for his offense, he looks forward to his future release albeit with anxiety and trepidation of what awaits him. He is not unaware of the 75% recidivism rate in the country, but I know will strive to overcome whatever roadblocks are put in his path, and become a law abiding, contributing member of society, as soon as he is allowed to. And we’ll proudly stand by him every step of the way.

I urge the Commission in particular to review and consider possible amendments to the guidelines applicable to drug offenses including possible consideration of amending the Drug Quantity Table in 2D1.1 (Unlawful Manufacturing, Importing, Exporting, or Traffick ing (Including Possession with Intent to Commit These Offenses); Attempt or Cons piracy) across drug types.

In addition I urge the Commission to continue its comprehensive, multi-year study of recidivism, including (A) examination of circumstances that correlate with increased or reduced recidivism; (B) possible development of recommendations for using information obtained from such study to reduce costs of incarceration and overcapacity of prisons; and (C) consideration of any amendments to the Guidelines Manual that may be appropriate in light of the information obtained from such studies.

Thank you for your consideration, and I sincerely hope, for the sake of our future generations, and for the young men and women, and their families, all those those caught up in the web of the Governments drug war, that we shall see a more sane, fair and sensible drug policy in the future. The system as it stands promotes hopelessness and despair and failure. We can do better.


I don't expect an answer from the Commission, I just hope my voice, one of many, will be heard as the Board weighs in on where to prioritize actions in 2014.