almost half<\/em><\/strong> of the federal prison population.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\nClearly, Sessions\u2019 decades-old \u201ctough on crime\u201d approach needs to be retired. Law enforcement and the courts need to be smarter on what crimes should be a priority. Throwing the book at mostly drug users does not seem to be solving anything.<\/p>\n
Moreover, mandatory minimums tie the hands of judges to factor in a defendant\u2019s background and specific circumstances. In addition, they have a disproportionate impact on minorities. Even though African-Americans and Latinos make up about 33% of the U.S. population combined, the federal prison population is made up of about 70% African-Americans and Latinos combined.<\/p>\n
The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act is a Good Start<\/h2>\n By tackling the problem of mandatory minimums, the current federal sentencing legislation in the Senate Judiciary Committee is a good piece of legislation. It will have the desired effect of reducing the federal prison population, but it is a far from perfect bill. In some instances, the bill creates new mandatory minimums, and does not go far enough to make drug-related sentences more reasonable. But, we have to start somewhere. This bill is a good place to begin.<\/p>\n
Moreover, doing what it takes to demonstrate that Sessions\u2019 is on the wrong side of history and minimizing any true influence he could have on the issue is also another good place to start in the pursuit of federal sentencing legislation reform.<\/p>\n
Brandon Sample, Esq. is an attorney who has a proven track record in sentencing advocacy, and is a sentencing reform activist. If you have a sentencing issue, if you have a wrong that needs to be righted, if you are seeking justice, seek out Brandon. Call 802-444-HELP today.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A piece of federal sentencing legislation that was shot down several years ago is now back in play. Then federal sentencing legislation, titled the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act, is meant to reverse the negative results of mass incarceration by pulling back on mandatory minimums and also providing much needed assistance to prisoners returning to…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":86307,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[343],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Federal Sentencing Legislation Developments | 802-444-4357<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n