SAN FRANCISCO – U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced a major shift in Department of Justice policy to address overcrowding in the federal prison system during remarks at the American Bar Association 2013 Annual Meeting. The ABA has previously urged adoption of many of the changes announced Monday.
“Too many Americans go to too many prisons for too long for no good law enforcement reason,” Holder said.
The steps announced by Holder will result in greater reliance on state courts and local communities in handling low-level, nonviolent drug crimes and will increase use of drug-treatment programs in the federal system. Holder also announced expansion of the “compassionate release” program for early release of elderly prisoners who have served a substantial majority of their federal sentence.
“We have learned a lot since the widespread enactment of draconian, one-size-fits-all mandatory minimum sentencing laws in the 1980s. A growing number of states have enacted ’smart’ sentencing and corrections laws that place greater reliance on community-based resources, including drug courts, drug treatment, halfway houses and home confinement for low-level drug offenders. These changes have resulted in significant savings to taxpayers while fully protecting public safety,” ABA President Laurel G. Bellows said.
“The level of incarceration and the fiscal and human costs under current federal policies are unsustainable. Already, the growth in the budget for the Federal Bureau of Prisons is crowding out and resulting in the elimination of vital law enforcement programs. These changes outlined by Attorney General Holder today are welcome and much-needed steps toward bringing the federal system into line with smart, evidence-based policy that will better serve taxpayers and public safety.”
18 thoughts on “Attorney General Holder eases federal prosecution for minor drug offenders”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23706720
He needed? I thought it was not addictive? Needed?
Give me a stoner any day over a boozer. Own my own business and the the so called stoner are there every day ready for work. They are hard working family oriented individuals. On the other hand the drinkers are late for work always bitching and their home life suck. If you haven’t tried it then how can you compare it to any drug. when was the last time you heard of anyone arrested for domestic assault when he was only on pot. Steel panther hit the nail on the head. Comparing apples and oranges.
It’s funny to hear you guys talk about this because it’s like voices of the past. The deep past.
Because for a MAJORITY of the US population IS legal with a scrip. It’s only 20 sates with more coming online all the time, but it comprises the majority of Americans. Iowa is in the minority here.
You’re all full of crap to. You want to pretend to get into someones head and pretend to know motive when toking? Bollocks! Complete and udder garbage.
High driving is certainly not drunk driving at all. You are comparing apples and oranges in your mind and that is incorrect. I’ve driven high everyday for over 25 years with no tickets or accidents of any kind. It is not drunk driving.
We will eventually educate all you children, but it’s going to take time to break through the programming that you’ve been subjected to for almost 100 years.
@Peter L. – Now maybe you see what is wrong with legalizing drugs. When you have flaming IDIOTS like Steal Panther out there admitting that they have driven high for 25 years it is easy to see the problem. The guy is so freaking brain dead he doesn’t even know the problem. He is even bragging about how he put everyone else on the road in danger so he can get high. If he should ever be so misfortunate to hit and kill one of my family I would shoot him DEAD on the spot. What a piece of SH##.
@ Petter L- I agree with you 100%. Most of the stoners you see in Madon City are not very responsible people. With that being said, IMO, we don’t see the responsible stoners because pot is illegal so it is kept underground. I guess what I am trying to say is I believe most who use are responsible people but the only users society sees are the douch bags. Just like with, alcohol, the majority of drinkers are very responsible people & we know that because it is legal & out in the public eye, but there are the few drinkers that are drunks & idiots. I am totally on board with what you are saying though.
I will probably regret saying this but, as much as I dislike Holder, this may not be a totally bad idea the way he proposed it. (The problem is you can’t believe a thing the guy says). Our prisons are full of non-violent drug offenders who do not belong to gangs and are not pushers as such. It cost us a fortune to keep them in jail and even more after the get out. There must be a better way than ruining their lives with a felony charge. We need to do something to get them paying taxes, not just sucking down benefits.
@peter L.-It is kind of like prohibition of alcohol. It just didn’t work. After a while you must wake up and say O.K., we can not continue this way and find another way. It is simple when you think about it.
And then what peter? after he legalizes pot is it heroin and then meth is next?
That last posting was mine, just didn’t look to see if my name was there.
Gawd you are stupid
that was a dumb comment. marijuana has medical uses thats why its being legalized everywere. herion and meth arnt even in the same category.
What I am getting at is that they are starting to decriminalize that which is illegal and make illegal that which isn’t.
Cocaine is just a plant man, why you gotta harsh my high, man?
No it isn’t. It’s a concentrated extract. Did you even go to school?
Stop putting marijuana leaf pictures in drug stories. Alcohol and tobacco are more of what a drug is. Pot bud is like the coffee bean, a plant, an herb. It’s not a drug, it’s a plant. Midwestern people have been systematically brainwashed for so long, they can’t understand that the overwhelming majority of people no longer agree with all the DARE type lies anymore.
It’s safe to be on the right side of this issue. History will not be kind to the Pals and Hepperly’s of this world.
It is a drug, and it is illegal. You can try to justify your use, but in the end, the law says otherwise.
You choose to break the law, so deal with what consequences result. Don’t blame others, don’t blame the law, because you made the choice. No one else caused it.
Should they use a poppy flower instead after all herion is a plant with no additives.