Wednesday, November 11, 2015
Our letter to the AG
Yesterday, Attorney General Loretta Lynch got a letter from me, Yale's Kate Stith, and Ohio State's Doug Berman. You can see the text of the letter here.
The letter, which was mostly the work of Kate Stith, urges the AG to press for a more uniform use of enhancements by prosecutors. That may sound mundane, but when I look at our clemency cases it becomes very real. Over and over, it is the same situation: prosecutors used these enhancements to drive up sentences against low-level defendants who refused to cooperate against others or chose to go to trial.
Will writing a letter matter? Maybe. What we hope for is that it will become a part of the AG's agenda for discussion. That is the first step to getting things changed.
The letter, which was mostly the work of Kate Stith, urges the AG to press for a more uniform use of enhancements by prosecutors. That may sound mundane, but when I look at our clemency cases it becomes very real. Over and over, it is the same situation: prosecutors used these enhancements to drive up sentences against low-level defendants who refused to cooperate against others or chose to go to trial.
Will writing a letter matter? Maybe. What we hope for is that it will become a part of the AG's agenda for discussion. That is the first step to getting things changed.
Comments:
<< Home
Letter is fine. Hope it does some good. Don't know why it shouldn't. Thanks for being a signatory and an advocate for the result sought.
Still got to work on the core issue. Sentences for many crimes, whether in state or federal court, are too harsh, at least in my opinion. Has anyone done a study of recidivism rates of 3 vs 6 year sentences (served), for example, on convictions for the same crime? This data would be interesting and material to dealing with the issue.
Still got to work on the core issue. Sentences for many crimes, whether in state or federal court, are too harsh, at least in my opinion. Has anyone done a study of recidivism rates of 3 vs 6 year sentences (served), for example, on convictions for the same crime? This data would be interesting and material to dealing with the issue.
# posted by 
: 11:07 PM
: 11:07 PM
Anon-- the Sentencing Commission did something like that after the 2007 reduction in crack sentences that was made retroactive. They found that the recidivism rate for those who got out early was no different than for those who served a full term.
Post a Comment
<< Home
