Sentence Relief Legislation Moves Slowly Through Congress
By Derek Gilna
While most
of the recent publicity has been focused on the significant reforms approved by
the United States Sentencing Commission, sentence relief bills continue to move
forward in Congress, but at a glacial pace.
One of those bills in the Smarter Sentencing Act, meant to extend the
benefits of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010, and introduced by a bipartisan
group including Senator Dick Durbin, a partisan Democrat, and Senator Ted Cruz,
a tea-party Republican. No vote on this legislation is currently scheduled.
This bill,
although it would also reduce the length of certain offenders and reduce the
federal prison population, will not help everyone. Like most things done by Congress, this bill
is focused on showing that members are still “tough on crime,” but only on
certain offenders. Unfortunately,, the exclusions appear to overshadow the
relief offerred. Individuals with higher
criminal history points, prior convictions involving the use of physical force
or violence, or various firearm, racketeering, and sex offender (as defined in
the Adam Walsh Act), get nothing from this bill.
Relief is
clearly targeted to “certain (minor) drug offenses.” Mandatory minimum
sentences are all reduced dramatically and retroactivity is extended for
certain offenses. However, what does
this mean to the already-incarcerated, whose offense does not fit into these
narrow categories of relief?
The answer
is obvious. You can’t rely upon others to do your work for you or look after
your welfare better than you can.
Although it may be comforting to some to put their fate in the hands of
Congress, or a “kinder-and-gentler” DOJ, or an already-overworked Federal
Defenders Program, decades of
experience has shown us that relief only comes from a focused, individualized
approach.
