Inequality in the United
States Is Not Only Economic, But Also Legal
By Derek Gilna
“Income
Inequality” is a popular topic of conversation in Washington
these days, and like most pronouncements of political parties, probably only
brought up for temporary political advantage.
If Washington really
wanted to do something to fight inequality, they would start with a complete
overhaul of the American justice system, especially on the federal level. Too often, people have been prosecuted and
convicted of charges of which they are not guilty, based upon hearsay, coerced testimony, or
secondhand, hearsay evidence. Progress
against these injustices has only come slowly, one case at a time.
We, of
course, applaud the “Smarter Sentencing Act” finally making it out of committee
in the Senate, and hope that it passes the full Senate, is approved by the
House, and then is signed by the President.
However, even the final passage of that law will not undo all of the
damage done by Guidelines Sentencing and Mandatory Minimums. Yes, the Fair
Sentencing Act helped reduce the disparity in crack cases, but the judiciary
has resisted with all of its might making it truly retroactive, which has
limited its impact.
However,
recently, the signals from the Executive Branch of the federal government have
become more promising. Attorney General
Holder has instructed assistant U.S.
attorneys to refrain from unnecessary use of gun enhancements and mandatory
minimums. The Justice Department has
indicated that it will begin to consider additional clemency petitions for the
most egregious circumstances. The
Director of the BOP has said that prisoners should file for compassionate
release if they feel they are qualified.
The message
is clear. Relief is available, if you
only know where to look. The U.S.
government is short on cash, and we should all do our best to help them reduce
costs-by reducing the number of incarcerated prisoners. However, justice will not be given
automatically, unless you demand it.
Your future depends upon it.
