A shift in the wind?

At times like this I wonder is it just me, as a member of “the choir”, that has noticed a shift in the wind as relates to our sentencing practices? By that I mean as a mother with a son in prison, serving a 12 ½ year prison sentence for a first time, non violent marijuana offense, I have my computer set so as to receive a host of news alerts as relates to the drug war and sentencing reform, so when I read about AG Eric Holders latest proposals regarding our draconian war on drugs and the overly long and punitive sentencing measures that go hand in hand, I thought out loud “at last!!” That finally we had reached the 'tipping point', the point where the current status quo affected so, so many that change was inevitable. But then I have to remind myself its just us, the prison ‘choir’, the ones who live in this 'alter'world, separate and apart from the real world, if not as inmates, as loved ones and families of the inmates, who have probably even paid ANY attention to the Atty Generals latest headline making remarks.

Today Holder spoke before the ABA (American Bar Association), where he announced that he would direct federal prosecutors to avoid charging low-level, nonviolent drug offenders with crimes that trigger mandatory prison sentences. As only Congress can change the current laws Holders comments will hopefully encourage Congress to move towards sentencing reform measures. Holder went on to repeat the same conclusions re the failure of our current policies that the Pew Study arrived at, that FAMM (Families Against Minimum Mandatory Sentences) and dozens of other drug and justice advocacy groups have been screaming for the past decade and more. And so it seems we stand on the dawn of a new day in how justice is meted out for many nonviolent, low level offenses. Now that Corey is all but finished serving his lengthy, overly harsh sentence, I can’t miss the irony.

“According to Holder, the Department of Justice has too often pursued tough charges against minor-league drug offenders in a draconian war on drugs. Judges are then forced to follow harsh federal guidelines that put the guilty behind bars for years. Currently, 47 percent of the nation’s 219,000 prisoners were convicted of drug crimes, according to the federal Bureau of Prisons. Holder said his new national policy requires that offenders who are nonviolent and not affiliated with street gangs be charged with offenses “better suited to their individual conduct” or turned over to their states for prosecution.”

One comment Holder made does concern me however, he announced that the Justice Department is giving U.S. attorneys throughout the country a greater amount of prosecutorial discretion going forward. As if they haven’t already had this for the past 30 plus years? For decades now the prosecutors have had total discretion, they have been accuser, jailor, judge and jury. When I read that one comment, set amidst all the other statements I’ve long hoped to hear from our Justice Dept, I saw everything else get wiped off the page. But perhaps I have become too cynical, I have learned all to well not to expect anything in this system, to do that guarantees disappointment. Time, like always, will tell. It will be interesting a year from now to revisit this page, this news, and see where we are at re sentencing reform, if anything has changed.

"This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice." ~Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.