For Immediate Release
Date: January 24, 2008
Contact: media@famm.org
Attorney General’s scare tactics on crack prisoners ignore court, prosecutorial safeguards that protect public safety
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Speaking to the U.S. Conference of Mayors today, Attorney General Michael Mukasey predicted dire consequences for our nation’s cities as a result of the U.S. Sentencing Commission decision on December 11 to permit certain prisoners the chance to seek modest reductions of their sentences for crack cocaine offenses.
Mukasey, a former federal judge, failed to tell his audience that the Sentencing Commission’s decision is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Courts considering sentence reduction motions must take public safety into account when weighing their decision. Any prisoner eligible to seek a reduction must first convince a court that they deserve one. If the U.S. Attorney believes a prisoner will pose a risk to the community if released early, he is entitled to explain to the court why the prisoner does not deserve the reduction.
“Rather than whipping up fear about the impending release of “violent gang members,” the Attorney General should be reassuring the mayors that U.S. attorneys are rolling up their sleeves and doing their jobs: reviewing sentencing records, examining criminal histories, and in cases where they think a sentencing reduction is not appropriate, making those arguments to the courts,” said Mary Price, vice president and general counsel of Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a national, nonpartisan sentencing reform organization.
Mukasey also did not explain that the decision to reduce crack cocaine sentences was made after 15 years of study by the Commission, which repeatedly told Congress that crack cocaine sentences are unduly harsh and have a disparate impact on African-Americans. These concerns were so “urgent and compelling” that reform was necessary.
In 2007, the U.S. Conference of Mayors unanimously passed a resolution that called for new approaches in the war on drugs and condemned mandatory minimum sentences, including those that make up the crack and powder cocaine disparity. “Perhaps Mr. Mukasey could learn something from the mayors, whose resolution recognized that long federal prison sentences are not the best solution to the drug problem,” said Price. (See p. 49 for the mayor's resolution http://usmayors.org/75thAnnualMeeting/resolutions_full.pdf.)
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that promotes just sentencing policies. For more information, visit: www.famm.org or contact media@famm.org.
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