Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk… That’s what 17 witnesses and 7 sentencing commissioners did Thursday at a hearing in D.C. on mandatory minimums. I was one of them. I’ve been talking about what’s wrong with mandatory minimums for 19 years. So have many of the others in the room. We have talked this issue to death. We all know that cookie-cutter mandatory minimum sentences deny justice and are bad policy made by reactionary legislators. And yet, we’re still talking about them, instead of killing them.
As I left the witness table a woman approached me to say that her two brothers have been convicted for a marijuana offense. They have been sitting in county jail for 16 months awaiting their sentencing and are looking at 20 years each. She had to collect herself so she didn’t completely breakdown while telling me her story. Of all the words spoken yesterday, hers were the only ones that really mattered. While the policy wonks are discussing the flaws of mandatory sentencing laws, people across the country are getting slammed by them. Talk is not cheap; it is costing decades of peoples’ lives. It’s time to change these damn laws.
Julie Stewart
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Talk is not cheap
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As Ms. Stewart says "Talk, talk, talk, talk, talk…" That is all we have been getting from our elected representatives and unless there is a paradigm shift on many fronts, that is all we are likely to get.
Change is needed right now. I know it, you know it Ms. Stewart and everyone else who testified at this hearing knows it, the USSC knows it, Congress knows it, Pres Obama knows it, (remember the campaign promises of "change"?). Where are the results of all of the talk? Sorry folks, there just aren't any of real substance. Mandatory Minimums still in full force, Crack/Powder disparity still un-resolved, no Federal Parole, no restoration of Federal "Good Time", no "Second Chance for Ex-Offenders", total system overhaul a la Senator Webb stalled and even if/when it is passed by both houses will result in.........yep, you guessed it, more talk for at least another eighteen months. Then legislation has to be introduced and the "talk" process starts all over. Overhaul a good idea? Yes but......... There are a number of things that could/should be done right now, today.
While all of the blather continues, action can and should be taken immediately to offer relief to the thousands, individuals and families, who are suffering from the collateral consequences of a very severely bent if not completely broken criminal justice system. Congress should:
•Immediately eliminate Mandatory Minimums and the crack/powder disparity.
•Re-instate a system of Federal parole.
•Pass H.R. 1475 to restore Federal "Good Time" allowances.
•Insure that first time non-violent offenders have an honest chance to get their lives back by passing H.R. 1529 the "second Chance For Ex-offenders Act of 2009".
•Emphasize that the "Guidelines" are advisory by making it clear to all Federal Judges that they are expected to act accordingly rather than continue to allow self-serving Federal Prosecutors to, as Mr. Hillier referred in his testimony, make charging decisions that “yield the most substantial sentence."
I will echo Ms. Stewart, as there is no way to say it better. "Talk is not cheap; it is costing decades of peoples’ lives. It’s time to change these damn laws."
Supporters of HR1529 @ http://bit.ly/maGAf
We Deserve Our Lives Back @ http://tiny.cc/wdft7
Poignant piece, great bog.
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