AG Holder Calls for Major Reform of Harsh Drug Sentencing Laws

Good news for President Obama
US News • Views: 16,103

This is a huge step in the right direction, to start reversing the damage done by decades of America’s insane “war on drugs:” Justice Dept. Seeks to Curtail Stiff Drug Sentences.

WASHINGTON — In a major shift in criminal justice policy, the Obama administration will move on Monday to ease overcrowding in federal prisons by ordering prosecutors to omit listing quantities of illegal substances in indictments for low-level drug cases, sidestepping federal laws that impose strict mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related offenses.

Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., in a speech at the American Bar Association’s annual meeting in San Francisco on Monday, is expected to announce the new policy as one of several steps intended to curb soaring taxpayer spending on prisons and help correct what he regards as unfairness in the justice system, according to his prepared remarks.

Jump to bottom

38 comments
1 Eclectic Cyborg  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 10:50:56am

That damned Obama, now’s he going soft on crime!!!

2 Internet Tough Guy  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 10:51:15am

inb4 horribly racist linkage of Obama/Holder to drug dealers.

3 Kragar  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 10:52:46am

This reform is long overdue and the GOP will claim it shows the administration is weak on crime.

4 Political Atheist  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 10:52:49am

And with a simple announcement we have an armistice in the war on drugs.

5 Eclectic Cyborg  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 10:54:07am

re: #3 Kragar

This reform is long overdue and the GOP will claim it shows the administration is weak on crime.

Either that or Obama is doing this as a favor to his drug dealing thug buddies.

6 Eclectic Cyborg  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 10:55:16am

Am I wrong or will this save Uncle Sam a boatload of money, therefore making this a “fiscally responsible” decision?

7 Gus  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 10:55:39am

TOO LITTLE TOO LATE AND THIS IS JUST WINDOW DRESSING WHICH WILL NOT GO FAR ENOUGH TO END THE WAR ON DRUGS WHICH OBAMA CAN END TODAY IF HE WANTED TO BUT IS PLAYING UP TO BIG PHARMA AND THE PRISON LOBBY!!!!!!!!!!!
— Emo J. Krebs

8 Political Atheist  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 10:56:20am

Should be interesting to see what ATF does differently (if anything) in marijuana friendly states. Maybe we should call those state “post neo prohibition”.

9 GeneJockey  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 10:56:24am

Let me see if I understand - Mandatory Minimum Sentences are triggered by specific amounts of specific drugs, for which there is no legally acceptable minimum amount, so Holder directed the US Attorneys to stop specifying amounts, therefore not triggering Mandatory Minimums?

Clever!

10 geoffm33  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:01:38am
12 Lidane  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:02:16am

How soon before the usual derptards start saying that Obama and Holder are doing a favor for their Fast & Furious buddies in the Mexican cartels?

13 Gus  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:05:14am

re: #12 Lidane

How soon before the usual derptards start saying that Obama and Holder are doing a favor for their Fast & Furious buddies in the Mexican cartels?

14 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:05:44am

Great decision.

If you haven’t seen this movie, you should. Available on Netflix and here: thehouseilivein.org

15 jaunte  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:05:44am

re: #13 Gus

Galvanic response.

16 Vicious Babushka  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:05:45am
17 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:05:55am

Thank you, Obama, for talking about a hugely important constitutional issue.

Of course this is modest compared to what I’d like, but I understand why, in this political landscape, he’d have to wait until his second term. Any hint of being soft on crime from a black politician is going to get, and stay, real ugly. Obama is almost trolling them for this fight by having Holder, the arch-nemesis of racists in this country almost more than Obama himself, announce this.

18 jaunte  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:07:36am
19 Bulworth  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:07:37am

re: #5 Eclectic Cyborg

No, no. This is Obummer and Holder IMPEACH IMPEACH releasing all the blah people from prison to start race war!! Confirmed. FACT. Retweet to IMPEACH!!!!

20 Lidane  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:08:10am

re: #17 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

Obama is almost trolling them for this fight by having Holder, the arch-nemesis of racists in this country almost more than Obama himself, announce this.

I’m pretty sure that Obama will spend the rest of his term deliberately trolling the GOP and winding people up. I can’t say I blame him.

21 Gus  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:08:34am

Who’s James ‘Whitey’ Bulger?

22 geoffm33  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:08:47am
23 Bulworth  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:08:48am

re: #7 Gus

PBO and Holder only doing this because Whistleblower Patriot Snowden released NSA spying surveiling secrets!!!!

//

24 geoffm33  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:09:06am
25 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:09:19am

re: #20 Lidane

I’m pretty sure that Obama will spend the rest of his term deliberately trolling the GOP and winding people up. I can’t say I blame him.

As we like to say often, Pres Obama is playing chess while the GOPers are playing checkers.

26 NJDhockeyfan  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:09:28am

re: #16 Vicious Babushka

[Embedded content]

Does Massachusetts have the death penalty available?

27 geoffm33  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:10:05am

re: #26 NJDhockeyfan

Does Massachusetts have the death penalty available?

No.

28 GeneJockey  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:10:08am

re: #25 Justanotherhuman

As we like to say often, Pres Obama is playing chess while the GOPers are playing checkers.

The problem being they still have the power to just flip the board and scatter the pieces.

29 Eclectic Cyborg  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:10:27am

re: #13 Gus

[Embedded content]

I hate how easy it is to call this stuff now.

30 Gus  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:10:53am

re: #23 Bulworth

PBO and Holder only doing this because Whistleblower Patriot Snowden released NSA spying surveiling secrets!!!!

//

TODAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT BY AG ERIC HOLDER WITH REGARDS TO REFORMING DRUG SENTENCING LAWS IS JUST AN ATTEMPT TO DISTRACT AMERICANS FROM THE HARSH TREATMENT OF EDWARD SNOWDEN BY THE SAME DOJ!!!!!!!!!!!

31 Justanotherhuman  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:11:25am

re: #28 GeneJockey

The problem being they still have the power to just flip the board and scatter the pieces.

Not when hand is holding down the board. : )

32 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:11:35am

re: #20 Lidane

I’m pretty sure that Obama will spend the rest of his term deliberately trolling the GOP and winding people up. I can’t say I blame him.

I mean, Holder is the natural guy to announce this, being AG, but it signals they’re not just announcing this, they’re championing it.

This quote from Holder:

Saying that “too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long and for no good law enforcement reason,” Mr. Holder is planning to justify his policy push in both moral and economic terms.

Is just spot on, and I’m glad they’re making the economic message. I’m glad they’re not just making this starry-eyed idealism. Give the jittery suburbanites something to grab onto.

33 Lidane  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:12:21am

re: #25 Justanotherhuman

As we like to say often, Pres Obama is playing chess while the GOPers are playing checkers.

Checkers seems a bit beyond them. They’re still stuck on Duck Duck Goose.

34 efuseakay  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:14:36am

Good. Now why did it take them so damn long?

35 GeneJockey  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 11:22:38am

re: #33 Lidane

Checkers seems a bit beyond them. They’re still stuck on Duck Duck Goose.

Like the Simpson’s episode where Ralph Wiggins is playing Duck Duck Goose, but just keeps saying, “Duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck, duck…”

36 Ming  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 12:25:51pm

Very happy to hear that the Obama Administration is getting around the absurd, draconian minimum-sentencing laws. It’s win-win for everyone to reduce the destructiveness of our insane War on Drugs.

Another win-win would be to change the current classification of marijuana as a “Schedule 1” controlled substance. This classification is laughable on its face, as thoroughly anti-science as creationism. I believe the Obama Administration can change this classification unilaterally.

37 AntonSirius  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 2:19:56pm

re: #19 Bulworth

No, no. This is Obummer and Holder IMPEACH IMPEACH releasing all the blah people from prison to start race war!! Confirmed. FACT. Retweet to IMPEACH!!!!

In addition, it’s IMPEACH IMPEACH Obummer and Holder are spitting on the Constution and ignoring their sworn duty to uphold the law!!! Confirmed. FACT. Retweet to IMPEACH!!!

Prosecutorial discretion, how does it work?

38 AntonSirius  Mon, Aug 12, 2013 2:22:04pm

re: #21 Gus

Who’s James ‘Whitey’ Bulger?

A friend of the Beav’s.


This article has been archived.
Comments are closed.

Jump to top

Create a PageThis is the LGF Pages posting bookmarklet. To use it, drag this button to your browser's bookmark bar, and title it 'LGF Pages' (or whatever you like). Then browse to a site you want to post, select some text on the page to use for a quote, click the bookmarklet, and the Pages posting window will appear with the title, text, and any embedded video or audio files already filled in, ready to go.
Or... you can just click this button to open the Pages posting window right away.
Last updated: 2023-04-04 11:11 am PDT
LGF User's Guide RSS Feeds

Help support Little Green Footballs!

Subscribe now for ad-free access!Register and sign in to a free LGF account before subscribing, and your ad-free access will be automatically enabled.

Donate with
PayPal
Cash.app
Recent PagesClick to refresh