In a 645-page report prepared by the United States sentencing Commission for Congress, the Commission found that "mandatory minimum" sentencing penalties are excessively severe and unjust, especially in instances where there is no physical harm or threat of physical harm. "While there is a spectrum of views on the Commission regarding mandatory minimum penalties, the Commission unanimously believes that certain mandatory minimum penalties apply too broadly, are excessively severe, and are applied inconsistently across the country," said Commission chairwoman Judge Patti Saris. The study comprised a review of 73,239 cases completed in 2010.
The study also showed that black convicted offenders are the group least likely to earn relief from mandatory minimum sentencing. this should come as no surprise to those familiar with the racial breakdown in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. In the BOP, a disproportionate number of prisoners are black, relative to the population of the U.S.
Blacks also received the lowest rate of relief under the "safety valve" provisions, either because of their criminal history or the usage of a dangerous weapon in the commission of a drug crime. "Safety valve" relief is a method by which low-level, non-violent, first-time offenders can be sentenced below the statutory minimum sentence.
The figures for relief from mandatory minimum sentencing for accused offenders cooperating with the government was broken down along racial lines as follows: Black, 34.9%; White, 46.5%; Hispanic, 55.7%; and other races, 58.9%. The figures for relief in "safety valve" in the BOP were as follows: Black, 11.1%; white, 26.7%; Hispanic, 53.8%; and other races, 36.6%.
The Sentencing Commission's study also made other key findings: 27% of offenders were convicted of mandatory minimum offenses; 75% if those sentenced under mandatory minimum were convicted of a drug trafficking offense; 14.5% received no relief from mandatory minimum sentencing; and those receiving a mandatory minimum sentence received an average sentence of 139 months, compared to an average sentence of 63 months for those offenders who received relief from a mandatory minimum sentence.
The study is just one of the many recent studies and public comments which share one common theme: the federal sentencing guidelines are not only too harsh, but are inequitably applied by judges. With most objective studies showing drug use by the general population holding steady among all racial groups, the policy of harsh drug sentencing given black offenders is not supportable. With population levels in the BOP at or near record highs, and most institutions holding at lest 20% more prisoners than their rated capacities, a review of federal sentencing practices is long overdue. As long as federal prosecutors can hold the threat of excessively long sentences over the heads of the accused if they choose to exercise their constitutional right of a jury of their peers, the nation's prisons will continue to be overcrowded.
SEE: "The National Law Journal," www.nlj.com, by Marcia Coyle, Oct. 31, 2011.
