Mass incarceration. Sessions says- Lock em up, throw away the key.

[LaDexter]

The US is in the grip of a group of mental midgets

has been for decades.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

"The move is a reversal of ex-President Barack Obama's policy to reduce jail time for low-level drug crimes.

It means we are going to meet our responsibility to enforce the law with judgment and fairness," Mr Sessions said on Friday. "It is simply the right and moral thing to do."

Mr Sessions' predecessor, Eric Holder, had instructed prosecutors in 2013 to avoid pursuing the maximum punishment for criminals in cases such as minor drug offences, which would have triggered mandatory minimum sentencing.

The 2013 policy also encouraged prosecutors to omit details about drug quantities in cases of non-violent offenders with no previous charges or ties to gangs or cartels to avoid harsher punishments.
Mandatory minimum sentences laws, which were passed in the 1980s and 1990s as part of the US "war on drugs", prevent judges from applying discretion when sentencing certain drug offences and are instead determined by the quantity of drugs involved in the crime.
Mr Obama had sought to ease mandatory minimum sentences to reduce jail time for low-level drug crimes and help relieve overcrowded prisons in the US as part of criminal justice reform."

US law boss Sessions orders harsher criminal sentencing - BBC News





"The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population. But it has almost a quarter of the world's prisoners.

Americans are locked up for crimes — from writing bad checks to using drugs — that would rarely produce prison sentences in other countries. And in particular they are kept incarcerated far longer than prisoners in other nations.

Criminologists and legal scholars in other industrialized nations say they are mystified and appalled by the number and length of American prison sentences.

The United States has, for instance, 2.3 million criminals behind bars,
China, which is four times more populous than the United States, is a distant second, with 1.6 million people in prison


If you count only adults, one in 100 Americans is locked up
The only other major industrialized nation that even comes close is Russia, with 627 prisoners for every 100,000 people.
The others have much lower rates. England's rate is 151; Germany's is 88; and Japan's is 63.
(The median among all nations is about 125, roughly a sixth of the American rate)


Criminologists and legal experts here and abroad point to a tangle of factors to explain America's extraordinary incarceration rate: higher levels of violent crime, harsher sentencing laws, a legacy of racial turmoil, a special fervor in combating illegal drugs, the American temperament, and the lack of a social safety net. Even democracy plays a role, as judges — many of whom are elected, another American anomaly — yield to populist demands for tough justice.
Whatever the reason, the gap between American justice and that of the rest of the world is enormous and growing.


The spike in American incarceration rates is quite recent. From 1925 to 1975, the rate remained stable, around 110 people in prison per 100,000 people. It shot up with the movement to get tough on crime in the late 1970s.


People who commit nonviolent crimes in the rest of the world are less likely to receive prison time and certainly less likely to receive long sentences. The United States is, for instance, the only advanced country that incarcerates people for minor property crimes like passing bad checks, Whitman wrote.

In 1980, there were about 40,000 people in American jails and prisons for drug crimes. These days, there are almost 500,000.
"The U.S. pursues the war on drugs with an ignorant fanaticism," said Stern of King's College.

Still, it is the length of sentences that truly distinguishes American prison policy.
Burglars in the United States serve an average of 16 months in prison, according to Mauer, compared with 5 months in Canada and 7 months in England."
U.S. prison population dwarfs that of other nations

Why do you lie so much?
Says here Sessions is going after dealers not users.
Sessions issues sweeping new criminal charging policy

Please quote my "lie"
As I just did yours

So you're against arresting drug dealers and giving them long sentences?

 

[The Irish Ram]

I have to agree with the leftists loons on this one

well, sort f anyway

the job of the AG is to enforce the laws as they are written, so it is hard to fault him for doing his job

BUT - mandatory minimum sentences are stupid

we incarcerate too many people in this country

and drug laws SHOULD NOT be under the purview of the Federal Government

on the surface, I don't like reducing charges to help criminals, but this one is a little touchy

not a good move for the AG - interested to see where this goes

Sessions just said he is not a fan of mandatory. He is though, a fan of doing his job. He is not in the position of passing laws. He is in the position of upholding them.
Usually the person on drugs isn't incarcerated for doing drugs, but for crimes committed while on drugs or crimes committed in an effort to obtain drugs. And those on the receiving end of these crimes are getting sick and tired of the coddling of these criminals.
My friend's daughter and her daughter's disgusting boyfriend are druggy thieves by trade. A few years behind bars is about the only thing that is going to get her sober, and keep her alive, and yet every time she's caught, the judge has opted for some "alternative treatment" which in druggy speak means, "Yippee, who are we ripping off tonight, baby daddy?"

Right. That will cure them of their criminal behavior for sure!

"Federal Recidivism Studies
Federal Offenders and Recidivism-US Sentencing Commission-March, 2016

This report provides a broad overview of key findings from the United States Sentencing Commission’s study of recidivism of federal offenders.

The Commission studied offenders who were either released from federal prison after serving a sentence of imprisonment or placed on a term of probation in 2005.

Nearly half (49.3%) of such offenders were rearrested within eight years for either a new crime or for some other violation of the condition of their probation or release conditions.

This report discusses the Commission’s recidivism research project and provides many additional findings from that project. In the future, the Commission will release additional publications discussing specific topics concerning recidivism of federal offenders. (March 2016)

The offenders studied in this project are 25,431 federal offenders.

Key Findings

The key findings of the Commission’s study are:

Over an eight-year follow-up period, almost one-half of federal offenders released in 2005 (49.3%) were rearrested for a new crime or rearrested for a violation of supervision conditions.

Almost one-third (31.7%) of the offenders were also reconvicted, and one-quarter (24.6%) of the offenders were reincarcerated over the same study period.

Offenders released from incarceration in 2005 had a rearrest rate of 52.5 percent, while offenders released directly to a probationary sentence had a rearrest rate of 35.1 percent.

Of those offenders who recidivated, most did so within the first two years of the eight year follow-up period. The median time to rearrest was 21 months.

About one-fourth of those rearrested had an assault rearrest as their most serious charge over the study period. Other common most serious offenses were drug trafficking, larceny, and public order offenses.

A federal offender’s criminal history was closely correlated with recidivism rates. Rearrest rates range from 30.2 percent for offenders with zero total criminal history points to 80.1 percent of offenders in the highest Criminal History Category, VI. Each additional criminal history point was generally associated with a greater likelihood of recidivism.

A federal offender’s age at time of release into the community was also closely associated with differences in recidivism rates. Offenders released prior to age 21 had the highest rearrest rate, 67.6 percent, while offenders over sixty years old at the time of release had a recidivism rate of 16.0 percent with the exception of very short sentences (less than 6 months),

The rate of recidivism varies very little by length of prison sentence imposed (fluctuating between 50.8% for sentences between 6 months to 2 years, to a high of 55.5% for sentences between 5 to 9 years).

Other factors, including offense type and educational level, were associated with differing rates of recidivism but less so than age and criminal history.

Percent of Released Prisoners Returning to Incarceration

So what do you suggest? Hugs and coloring books? Because druggy classes simply do not work. Shall we let them help themselves to our belongings, our cash registers because incarceration is too hard on them?
Bullshit. If my friend's daughter goes to prison after one of her heists, it isn't to benefit her, it is to protect us.
A three year sentence means 3 years that a business will be able to keep it's profits, and her mother can sleep for 3 years without fear of that 3am. phone call.
If she gets out in three years and robs someone again, then 3 years wasn't long enough. Make it 6 years next time.

You think jail is a safe place lol? The longer she is there the higher the chance of her being hurt or killed by other inmates.
I suggest we get rid of private prisons- no one should be profiting off their neighbors loss of freedom. Break a law go to a gov prison.
I suggest we review sentence durations. Our punishments don't fit the crime.
I suggest we get rid of minimum sentences and trust our judges to use their best judgement.
I suggest we look at programs prisoners transition to after their sentence- are we just dropping excons back into the same situation that lead then to crime or are we preparing them to be contributing members of society?
I also would like to see much more attention on the discrepancies of arrests and sentencing among the races.

Like I said, sentencing a criminal isn't for their own good, it is for society's own good. I don't give a shit what happens to her in jail. She is aware of the risks and apparently thinks it is worth it so..

 

[LaDexter]

So you're against arresting drug dealers and giving them long sentences?

A better way to make America Great would be to put the dealers out of business by legalizing, growing here, employing Americans here, who pay taxes here.... and stiffen up on some of the "repeat addicts" with boot camps.

 

[HereWeGoAgain]

So you're against arresting drug dealers and giving them long sentences?

A better way to make America Great would be to put the dealers out of business by legalizing, growing here, employing Americans here, who pay taxes here.... and stiffen up on some of the "repeat addicts" with boot camps.

I dont have a problem with pot.
I do however have a problem with those who sell highly addictive drugs like coke or heroin.
That shit destroys lives.

 

[koshergrl]

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

Simple enough

or live in any other industrialized country in the world where they do not keep people in prison for years on minor charges.

Yeah, I think murder, armed robbery, rape are all major charges.

 

[dcbl]

In the end, Sessions is telling his subordinates that they will press for the maximum sentences offered by the law being broken.

This is the job and it is a dereliction of the job to do otherwise. This is why Obama's Justice Department was wrong.

Sessions is NOT telling the Judges how to rule, however. If you people only learned to think critically you'd see that.

If you read the article he is changing policies that does have some effect on how judges are able to rule.

I guess you must own a private prison and make billions off of taking your neighbors freedom. There is no other reason you would support this sort of mass incarceration as it is deeply damaging to our citizens and our society.

I want to reiterate 3 things:

1 - laws about drug use should not be federal states should set them ast they see fit
2 - mandatory minimum sentencing was a bad solution to a real problem
3 - we do lock up way too many people (and let some out way too early)

the whole thing is a mess

again, I am not thrilled with Sessions insofar as this is concerned

BUT, to play devil's advocate, ensuring that the maximum charges be brought against all defendants CAN be a good strategic move, as it gives prosecutors more "wiggle room" in negotiating pleas

 

[koshergrl]

The whole narrative that our prisons are full of people who are incarcerated for years on smoking a little reefer is completely false.

Our prisons are full of people who commit crimes WHILE they are smoking reefer, this is true enough, and then they pick up that conviction too.

But it isn't recreational smoking and doping that lands people in prison for long periods of time. It's being caught with amounts on you that you intend to sell...and it's the OTHER crimes those people commit that land them in the pokey.

If you want to obsess about innocent people who are incarcerated when they pose absolutely no threat to society, then look at all the ranchers and farmers that are held in prison for YEARS by the feds... because the feds want their land.

 

[LaDexter]

I do however have a problem with those who sell highly addictive drugs like coke or heroin.
That shit destroys lives.

So does OxyContin, Perkaset, Lore Tab etc....

all the stuff that has flooded our high schools since JEFF SESSIONS voted to SOCIALIZE SENIOR DRUGS in 2004, which was THE LAST STRAW to break as I switched from GOP to Libertarian.

Socializing senior drugs ---- by the GOP--- complete with LYING ABOUT THE COST to ram it through...


http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/07/u...l-threatened-actuary-over-cost-drug.html?_r=0


"An internal investigation by the Department of Health and Human Services confirms that the top Medicare official threatened to fire the program's chief actuary if he told Congress that drug benefits would probably cost much more than the White House acknowledged.

A report on the investigation, issued Tuesday, says the administrator of Medicare, Thomas A. Scully, issued the threat to Richard S. Foster while lawmakers were considering huge changes in the program last year. As a result, Mr. Foster's cost estimate did not become known until after the legislation was enacted.

But neither the threat nor the withholding of information violated any criminal law, the report said. It accepted the Justice Department's view that Mr. Scully had ''the final authority to determine the flow of information to Congress.'' Moreover, it said, the actuary ''had no authority to disclose information independently to Congress.''"

 

[dcbl]

Yes pot certainly needs to be federally legal. No doubt about it.

federal government should have zero laws about it

should not be legal or illegal federally

 

[Auld Phart]

I have to agree with the leftists loons on this one

well, sort f anyway

the job of the AG is to enforce the laws as they are written, so it is hard to fault him for doing his job

BUT - mandatory minimum sentences are stupid

we incarcerate too many people in this country

and drug laws SHOULD NOT be under the purview of the Federal Government

on the surface, I don't like reducing charges to help criminals, but this one is a little touchy

not a good move for the AG - interested to see where this goes

Sessions just said he is not a fan of mandatory. He is though, a fan of doing his job. He is not in the position of passing laws. He is in the position of upholding them.
Usually the person on drugs isn't incarcerated for doing drugs, but for crimes committed while on drugs or crimes committed in an effort to obtain drugs. And those on the receiving end of these crimes are getting sick and tired of the coddling of these criminals.
My friend's daughter and her daughter's disgusting boyfriend are druggy thieves by trade. A few years behind bars is about the only thing that is going to get her sober, and keep her alive, and yet every time she's caught, the judge has opted for some "alternative treatment" which in druggy speak means, "Yippee, who are we ripping off tonight, baby daddy?"

Right. That will cure them of their criminal behavior for sure!

"Federal Recidivism Studies
Federal Offenders and Recidivism-US Sentencing Commission-March, 2016

This report provides a broad overview of key findings from the United States Sentencing Commission’s study of recidivism of federal offenders.

The Commission studied offenders who were either released from federal prison after serving a sentence of imprisonment or placed on a term of probation in 2005.

Nearly half (49.3%) of such offenders were rearrested within eight years for either a new crime or for some other violation of the condition of their probation or release conditions.

This report discusses the Commission’s recidivism research project and provides many additional findings from that project. In the future, the Commission will release additional publications discussing specific topics concerning recidivism of federal offenders. (March 2016)

The offenders studied in this project are 25,431 federal offenders.

Key Findings

The key findings of the Commission’s study are:

Over an eight-year follow-up period, almost one-half of federal offenders released in 2005 (49.3%) were rearrested for a new crime or rearrested for a violation of supervision conditions.

Almost one-third (31.7%) of the offenders were also reconvicted, and one-quarter (24.6%) of the offenders were reincarcerated over the same study period.

Offenders released from incarceration in 2005 had a rearrest rate of 52.5 percent, while offenders released directly to a probationary sentence had a rearrest rate of 35.1 percent.

Of those offenders who recidivated, most did so within the first two years of the eight year follow-up period. The median time to rearrest was 21 months.

About one-fourth of those rearrested had an assault rearrest as their most serious charge over the study period. Other common most serious offenses were drug trafficking, larceny, and public order offenses.

A federal offender’s criminal history was closely correlated with recidivism rates. Rearrest rates range from 30.2 percent for offenders with zero total criminal history points to 80.1 percent of offenders in the highest Criminal History Category, VI. Each additional criminal history point was generally associated with a greater likelihood of recidivism.

A federal offender’s age at time of release into the community was also closely associated with differences in recidivism rates. Offenders released prior to age 21 had the highest rearrest rate, 67.6 percent, while offenders over sixty years old at the time of release had a recidivism rate of 16.0 percent with the exception of very short sentences (less than 6 months),

The rate of recidivism varies very little by length of prison sentence imposed (fluctuating between 50.8% for sentences between 6 months to 2 years, to a high of 55.5% for sentences between 5 to 9 years).

Other factors, including offense type and educational level, were associated with differing rates of recidivism but less so than age and criminal history.

Percent of Released Prisoners Returning to Incarceration

So what do you suggest? Hugs and coloring books? Because druggy classes simply do not work. Shall we let them help themselves to our belongings, our cash registers because incarceration is too hard on them?
Bullshit. If my friend's daughter goes to prison after one of her heists, it isn't to benefit her, it is to protect us.
A three year sentence means 3 years that a business will be able to keep it's profits, and her mother can sleep for 3 years without fear of that 3am. phone call.
If she gets out in three years and robs someone again, then 3 years wasn't long enough. Make it 6 years next time.

You think jail is a safe place lol? The longer she is there the higher the chance of her being hurt or killed by other inmates.
I suggest we get rid of private prisons- no one should be profiting off their neighbors loss of freedom. Break a law go to a gov prison.
I suggest we review sentence durations. Our punishments don't fit the crime.
I suggest we get rid of minimum sentences and trust our judges to use their best judgement.
I suggest we look at programs prisoners transition to after their sentence- are we just dropping excons back into the same situation that lead then to crime or are we preparing them to be contributing members of society?
I also would like to see much more attention on the discrepancies of arrests and sentencing among the races.

- are we just dropping excons back into the same situation that lead then to crime or are we preparing them to be contributing members of society?

Sorry, but you have NO idea how many times I saw the same face come back to the prison after they were released.

Hard to get them to change their ways, when they enjoy doing the things that get them locked up

 

[dcbl]

Do you think Americans are inherently more violent, dangerous, crazed, lunatics than are found around the rest of the world?

just democrats...

 

[Aries]

"The move is a reversal of ex-President Barack Obama's policy to reduce jail time for low-level drug crimes.

It means we are going to meet our responsibility to enforce the law with judgment and fairness," Mr Sessions said on Friday. "It is simply the right and moral thing to do."

Mr Sessions' predecessor, Eric Holder, had instructed prosecutors in 2013 to avoid pursuing the maximum punishment for criminals in cases such as minor drug offences, which would have triggered mandatory minimum sentencing.

The 2013 policy also encouraged prosecutors to omit details about drug quantities in cases of non-violent offenders with no previous charges or ties to gangs or cartels to avoid harsher punishments.
Mandatory minimum sentences laws, which were passed in the 1980s and 1990s as part of the US "war on drugs", prevent judges from applying discretion when sentencing certain drug offences and are instead determined by the quantity of drugs involved in the crime.
Mr Obama had sought to ease mandatory minimum sentences to reduce jail time for low-level drug crimes and help relieve overcrowded prisons in the US as part of criminal justice reform."

US law boss Sessions orders harsher criminal sentencing - BBC News





"The United States has less than 5 percent of the world's population. But it has almost a quarter of the world's prisoners.

Americans are locked up for crimes — from writing bad checks to using drugs — that would rarely produce prison sentences in other countries. And in particular they are kept incarcerated far longer than prisoners in other nations.

Criminologists and legal scholars in other industrialized nations say they are mystified and appalled by the number and length of American prison sentences.

The United States has, for instance, 2.3 million criminals behind bars,
China, which is four times more populous than the United States, is a distant second, with 1.6 million people in prison


If you count only adults, one in 100 Americans is locked up
The only other major industrialized nation that even comes close is Russia, with 627 prisoners for every 100,000 people.
The others have much lower rates. England's rate is 151; Germany's is 88; and Japan's is 63.
(The median among all nations is about 125, roughly a sixth of the American rate)


Criminologists and legal experts here and abroad point to a tangle of factors to explain America's extraordinary incarceration rate: higher levels of violent crime, harsher sentencing laws, a legacy of racial turmoil, a special fervor in combating illegal drugs, the American temperament, and the lack of a social safety net. Even democracy plays a role, as judges — many of whom are elected, another American anomaly — yield to populist demands for tough justice.
Whatever the reason, the gap between American justice and that of the rest of the world is enormous and growing.


The spike in American incarceration rates is quite recent. From 1925 to 1975, the rate remained stable, around 110 people in prison per 100,000 people. It shot up with the movement to get tough on crime in the late 1970s.


People who commit nonviolent crimes in the rest of the world are less likely to receive prison time and certainly less likely to receive long sentences. The United States is, for instance, the only advanced country that incarcerates people for minor property crimes like passing bad checks, Whitman wrote.

In 1980, there were about 40,000 people in American jails and prisons for drug crimes. These days, there are almost 500,000.
"The U.S. pursues the war on drugs with an ignorant fanaticism," said Stern of King's College.

Still, it is the length of sentences that truly distinguishes American prison policy.
Burglars in the United States serve an average of 16 months in prison, according to Mauer, compared with 5 months in Canada and 7 months in England."
U.S. prison population dwarfs that of other nations

Why do you lie so much?
Says here Sessions is going after dealers not users.
Sessions issues sweeping new criminal charging policy

Please quote my "lie"
As I just did yours

So you're against arresting drug dealers and giving them long sentences?

Good question.
Should a kid selling pot to their college friends face years in prison? Absolutely not. No harm, no victim.
Should a poor guy selling pot on their "block" face years in prison? Absolutely not.

Should a heroin dealer? yes- heroin kills people.

 

[Aries]

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

Simple enough

or live in any other industrialized country in the world where they do not keep people in prison for years on minor charges.

Yeah, I think murder, armed robbery, rape are all major charges.

I agree. Crimes with a victim should be taken much more seriously than crimes without a victim.

 

[Aries]

I have to agree with the leftists loons on this one

well, sort f anyway

the job of the AG is to enforce the laws as they are written, so it is hard to fault him for doing his job

BUT - mandatory minimum sentences are stupid

we incarcerate too many people in this country

and drug laws SHOULD NOT be under the purview of the Federal Government

on the surface, I don't like reducing charges to help criminals, but this one is a little touchy

not a good move for the AG - interested to see where this goes

Sessions just said he is not a fan of mandatory. He is though, a fan of doing his job. He is not in the position of passing laws. He is in the position of upholding them.
Usually the person on drugs isn't incarcerated for doing drugs, but for crimes committed while on drugs or crimes committed in an effort to obtain drugs. And those on the receiving end of these crimes are getting sick and tired of the coddling of these criminals.
My friend's daughter and her daughter's disgusting boyfriend are druggy thieves by trade. A few years behind bars is about the only thing that is going to get her sober, and keep her alive, and yet every time she's caught, the judge has opted for some "alternative treatment" which in druggy speak means, "Yippee, who are we ripping off tonight, baby daddy?"

Right. That will cure them of their criminal behavior for sure!

"Federal Recidivism Studies
Federal Offenders and Recidivism-US Sentencing Commission-March, 2016

This report provides a broad overview of key findings from the United States Sentencing Commission’s study of recidivism of federal offenders.

The Commission studied offenders who were either released from federal prison after serving a sentence of imprisonment or placed on a term of probation in 2005.

Nearly half (49.3%) of such offenders were rearrested within eight years for either a new crime or for some other violation of the condition of their probation or release conditions.

This report discusses the Commission’s recidivism research project and provides many additional findings from that project. In the future, the Commission will release additional publications discussing specific topics concerning recidivism of federal offenders. (March 2016)

The offenders studied in this project are 25,431 federal offenders.

Key Findings

The key findings of the Commission’s study are:

Over an eight-year follow-up period, almost one-half of federal offenders released in 2005 (49.3%) were rearrested for a new crime or rearrested for a violation of supervision conditions.

Almost one-third (31.7%) of the offenders were also reconvicted, and one-quarter (24.6%) of the offenders were reincarcerated over the same study period.

Offenders released from incarceration in 2005 had a rearrest rate of 52.5 percent, while offenders released directly to a probationary sentence had a rearrest rate of 35.1 percent.

Of those offenders who recidivated, most did so within the first two years of the eight year follow-up period. The median time to rearrest was 21 months.

About one-fourth of those rearrested had an assault rearrest as their most serious charge over the study period. Other common most serious offenses were drug trafficking, larceny, and public order offenses.

A federal offender’s criminal history was closely correlated with recidivism rates. Rearrest rates range from 30.2 percent for offenders with zero total criminal history points to 80.1 percent of offenders in the highest Criminal History Category, VI. Each additional criminal history point was generally associated with a greater likelihood of recidivism.

A federal offender’s age at time of release into the community was also closely associated with differences in recidivism rates. Offenders released prior to age 21 had the highest rearrest rate, 67.6 percent, while offenders over sixty years old at the time of release had a recidivism rate of 16.0 percent with the exception of very short sentences (less than 6 months),

The rate of recidivism varies very little by length of prison sentence imposed (fluctuating between 50.8% for sentences between 6 months to 2 years, to a high of 55.5% for sentences between 5 to 9 years).

Other factors, including offense type and educational level, were associated with differing rates of recidivism but less so than age and criminal history.

Percent of Released Prisoners Returning to Incarceration

So what do you suggest? Hugs and coloring books? Because druggy classes simply do not work. Shall we let them help themselves to our belongings, our cash registers because incarceration is too hard on them?
Bullshit. If my friend's daughter goes to prison after one of her heists, it isn't to benefit her, it is to protect us.
A three year sentence means 3 years that a business will be able to keep it's profits, and her mother can sleep for 3 years without fear of that 3am. phone call.
If she gets out in three years and robs someone again, then 3 years wasn't long enough. Make it 6 years next time.

You think jail is a safe place lol? The longer she is there the higher the chance of her being hurt or killed by other inmates.
I suggest we get rid of private prisons- no one should be profiting off their neighbors loss of freedom. Break a law go to a gov prison.
I suggest we review sentence durations. Our punishments don't fit the crime.
I suggest we get rid of minimum sentences and trust our judges to use their best judgement.
I suggest we look at programs prisoners transition to after their sentence- are we just dropping excons back into the same situation that lead then to crime or are we preparing them to be contributing members of society?
I also would like to see much more attention on the discrepancies of arrests and sentencing among the races.

Like I said, sentencing a criminal isn't for their own good, it is for society's own good. I don't give a shit what happens to her in jail. She is aware of the risks and apparently thinks it is worth it so..

In that case, do you agree victimless crimes should be considered less severe than violent crimes?

 

[dcbl]

I suggest we look at programs prisoners transition to after their sentence- are we just dropping excons back into the same situation that lead then to crime or are we preparing them to be contributing members of society?

remember the judge in New England a few years ago that gave a child molester probation?

mandatory minimums, as we have them set up, are foolish & too harsh too much of the time

especially the "3 strikes" laws that require life sentences for a 3rd felony conviction

but I have to backtrack, SOMETIMES mandatory minimums can prevent bad judges from implementing awful sentences

also - remember the kid at Stanford earlier this year that actually raped an unconscious girl & basically got off?

there are no easy answers

I don't want to see someone pull a life sentence for 3 petty drug felonies, but I also don't want to see a pedo EVER get out of prison

in fact, pedos ought to be put to death, but that is another topic for another thread...

 

[Aries]

Do you think Americans are inherently more violent, dangerous, crazed, lunatics than are found around the rest of the world?

just democrats...

In the end, Sessions is telling his subordinates that they will press for the maximum sentences offered by the law being broken.

This is the job and it is a dereliction of the job to do otherwise. This is why Obama's Justice Department was wrong.

Sessions is NOT telling the Judges how to rule, however. If you people only learned to think critically you'd see that.

If you read the article he is changing policies that does have some effect on how judges are able to rule.

I guess you must own a private prison and make billions off of taking your neighbors freedom. There is no other reason you would support this sort of mass incarceration as it is deeply damaging to our citizens and our society.

I want to reiterate 3 things:

1 - laws about drug use should not be federal states should set them ast they see fit
2 - mandatory minimum sentencing was a bad solution to a real problem
3 - we do lock up way too many people (and let some out way too early)

the whole thing is a mess

again, I am not thrilled with Sessions insofar as this is concerned

BUT, to play devil's advocate, ensuring that the maximum charges be brought against all defendants CAN be a good strategic move, as it gives prosecutors more "wiggle room" in negotiating pleas

I don't think that would be applied equally. We would most likely see a huge number of minorities receiving the max and a huge number of whites benefitting from that wiggle room.

 

[Aries]

I suggest we look at programs prisoners transition to after their sentence- are we just dropping excons back into the same situation that lead then to crime or are we preparing them to be contributing members of society?

remember the judge in New England a few years ago that gave a child molester probation?

mandatory minimums, as we have them set up, are foolish & too harsh too much of the time

especially the "3 strikes" laws that require life sentences for a 3rd felony conviction

but I have to backtrack, SOMETIMES mandatory minimums can prevent bad judges from implementing awful sentences

also - remember the kid at Stanford earlier this year that actually raped an unconscious girl & basically got off?

there are no easy answers

I don't want to see someone pull a life sentence for 3 petty drug felonies, but I also don't want to see a pedo EVER get out of prison

in fact, pedos ought to be put to death, but that is another topic for another thread...

Yes Brock Turner.

Perfect example, there are poor kids who served 6x that sentence for pot. No one was hurt no one was raped, someone just got high for a few hours and a young persons life is destroyed.
What Turner did was RAPE, he should have been facing several years AT LEAST.
Something I may be able to get behind is removing minimum sentences for victimless crimes.

Mad about Brock Turner's sentence? It's not uncommon - CNN.com

 

[BlindBoo]

There is absolutely no basis in the Constitution to ban a plant unless it is poisonous.

The ban was all about how BIG GOVERNMENT protects its own and enriching and empowering attorneys.

If you want to ban a plant I nominate Poison Ivy.

 

[Aries]

I have to agree with the leftists loons on this one

well, sort f anyway

the job of the AG is to enforce the laws as they are written, so it is hard to fault him for doing his job

BUT - mandatory minimum sentences are stupid

we incarcerate too many people in this country

and drug laws SHOULD NOT be under the purview of the Federal Government

on the surface, I don't like reducing charges to help criminals, but this one is a little touchy

not a good move for the AG - interested to see where this goes

Sessions just said he is not a fan of mandatory. He is though, a fan of doing his job. He is not in the position of passing laws. He is in the position of upholding them.
Usually the person on drugs isn't incarcerated for doing drugs, but for crimes committed while on drugs or crimes committed in an effort to obtain drugs. And those on the receiving end of these crimes are getting sick and tired of the coddling of these criminals.
My friend's daughter and her daughter's disgusting boyfriend are druggy thieves by trade. A few years behind bars is about the only thing that is going to get her sober, and keep her alive, and yet every time she's caught, the judge has opted for some "alternative treatment" which in druggy speak means, "Yippee, who are we ripping off tonight, baby daddy?"

Right. That will cure them of their criminal behavior for sure!

"Federal Recidivism Studies
Federal Offenders and Recidivism-US Sentencing Commission-March, 2016

This report provides a broad overview of key findings from the United States Sentencing Commission’s study of recidivism of federal offenders.

The Commission studied offenders who were either released from federal prison after serving a sentence of imprisonment or placed on a term of probation in 2005.

Nearly half (49.3%) of such offenders were rearrested within eight years for either a new crime or for some other violation of the condition of their probation or release conditions.

This report discusses the Commission’s recidivism research project and provides many additional findings from that project. In the future, the Commission will release additional publications discussing specific topics concerning recidivism of federal offenders. (March 2016)

The offenders studied in this project are 25,431 federal offenders.

Key Findings

The key findings of the Commission’s study are:

Over an eight-year follow-up period, almost one-half of federal offenders released in 2005 (49.3%) were rearrested for a new crime or rearrested for a violation of supervision conditions.

Almost one-third (31.7%) of the offenders were also reconvicted, and one-quarter (24.6%) of the offenders were reincarcerated over the same study period.

Offenders released from incarceration in 2005 had a rearrest rate of 52.5 percent, while offenders released directly to a probationary sentence had a rearrest rate of 35.1 percent.

Of those offenders who recidivated, most did so within the first two years of the eight year follow-up period. The median time to rearrest was 21 months.

About one-fourth of those rearrested had an assault rearrest as their most serious charge over the study period. Other common most serious offenses were drug trafficking, larceny, and public order offenses.

A federal offender’s criminal history was closely correlated with recidivism rates. Rearrest rates range from 30.2 percent for offenders with zero total criminal history points to 80.1 percent of offenders in the highest Criminal History Category, VI. Each additional criminal history point was generally associated with a greater likelihood of recidivism.

A federal offender’s age at time of release into the community was also closely associated with differences in recidivism rates. Offenders released prior to age 21 had the highest rearrest rate, 67.6 percent, while offenders over sixty years old at the time of release had a recidivism rate of 16.0 percent with the exception of very short sentences (less than 6 months),

The rate of recidivism varies very little by length of prison sentence imposed (fluctuating between 50.8% for sentences between 6 months to 2 years, to a high of 55.5% for sentences between 5 to 9 years).

Other factors, including offense type and educational level, were associated with differing rates of recidivism but less so than age and criminal history.

Percent of Released Prisoners Returning to Incarceration

So what do you suggest? Hugs and coloring books? Because druggy classes simply do not work. Shall we let them help themselves to our belongings, our cash registers because incarceration is too hard on them?
Bullshit. If my friend's daughter goes to prison after one of her heists, it isn't to benefit her, it is to protect us.
A three year sentence means 3 years that a business will be able to keep it's profits, and her mother can sleep for 3 years without fear of that 3am. phone call.
If she gets out in three years and robs someone again, then 3 years wasn't long enough. Make it 6 years next time.

You think jail is a safe place lol? The longer she is there the higher the chance of her being hurt or killed by other inmates.
I suggest we get rid of private prisons- no one should be profiting off their neighbors loss of freedom. Break a law go to a gov prison.
I suggest we review sentence durations. Our punishments don't fit the crime.
I suggest we get rid of minimum sentences and trust our judges to use their best judgement.
I suggest we look at programs prisoners transition to after their sentence- are we just dropping excons back into the same situation that lead then to crime or are we preparing them to be contributing members of society?
I also would like to see much more attention on the discrepancies of arrests and sentencing among the races.

- are we just dropping excons back into the same situation that lead then to crime or are we preparing them to be contributing members of society?

Sorry, but you have NO idea how many times I saw the same face come back to the prison after they were released.

Hard to get them to change their ways, when they enjoy doing the things that get them locked up

I agree when someone serves time they are more likely to return to jail. But why?
Bad people are entering jail and coming out worse people. How can we break that cycle?
That's why I think that the programs used in transitioning convicts back into society should be reviewed, are they just getting dumped in the same circumstances or can we get some job training, some educational programs, something that would make their odds at assimilation higher.