Tag Archives: sentencing reform

national news

Where is POTUS on issues many of us support?

By my unofficial count, I believe Donald Trump has put forth exactly two policy pronouncements over the first half of his term with which I agree.

One of them deals with corrections reform; the other involves infrastructure renovation.

However, what does The Donald do with that Twitter account of his — the medium he uses ostensibly to make these policy announcements? He uses it to bash the media, concoct conspiracy theories about his opponents, bully his foes … and on and on in that vein.

I’m still waiting for some serious follow up on the first of the policy matters I mentioned, the one dealing with corrections reform and federal sentencing policies. Infrastructure repair essentially is off the table, given its trillion-dollar-plus price tag and the federal budget deficit and debt that are exploding before our eyes.

Sentencing reform came to the fore after Trump — at the urging of Kim Kardashian and Kanye West — commuted the sentence of a first-time drug offender. The president was correct to call attention to the inflexibility of federal sentencing policies. He said those policies should mirror states’ sentencing guidelines, which give judges and juries far more flexibility.

But the president isn’t using Twitter to push those policies. Instead, he is focusing on stupid disputes, petty arguments, insults and innuendo and an assortment of ridiculous feuds.

I want the president to make the case for the one remaining policy argument that, in my view, is worth discussing.

Step it up, Mr. President!

legal news

Sentencing reform might get trampled by Trump woes

I have a concern about a seriously important proposal from Donald Trump that might fall victim to the mounting legal troubles that are piling up around the White House.

The president has pitched a notion that needs congressional attention and approval. It is a plan to reform federal sentencing guidelines, giving federal judges some needed flexibility in sentencing defendants, particularly those who are convicted of non-violent drug crimes.

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has given the green light to legislation that would advance those reforms. Let’s hope it goes all the way.

I support fully the proposal that Trump has put forth, but my concern now is that it might get lost as Washington, D.C., gets swallowed up by the myriad legal difficulties arising from the Russia probe and questions about alleged conspiracy, collusion and campaign finance violations.

Federal judges have been hamstrung by mandatory sentencing policies. They have damn little flexibility in determining the sentences they can give to those convicted of federal crimes.

The president wants to change that policy. Indeed, he recently commuted the sentence of a woman who had spent too much time in prison even though she was a non-violent offender. Trump acted on a request from that noted prison reformer (and reality TV star) Kim Kardashian West. It was the right call.

Trump intends to reform the entire sentencing system, to which I say, “Go for it, Mr. President.”

I just don’t want it swept away in the rip tide that is developing over these other — increasingly dire — legal matters.

legal news

Promise kept: kudos to POTUS for prison reform proposal

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I told you I would offer praise to Donald John Trump when the president merited it.

He has delivered an opportunity for me to make good on my pledge.

Trump today announced a sweeping reform of federal prison sentencing, the first such overhaul in a generation. The president called it a bipartisan agreement, although, as The Associated Press reported, there were no congressional Democrats present today at the announcement.

The deal, which must be approved by Congress, gives judges more flexibility in sentencing individuals convicted of federal crimes. The change appears to have the most impact on those convicted of drug offenses, where critics of the federal sentencing guidelines say result often in overly harsh sentences for non-violent offenders.

As the AP reported: House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., called Trump’s announcement “an encouraging sign that we can achieve substantive reforms to our criminal justice system in this Congress.”

“Redemption is at the heart of the American Idea, and that’s what this is about,” he said.

Yes, redemption is critical in this proposal.

Prison sentencing reform has been of particular interest to one of the president’s key advisers, son-in-law Jared Kushner.

Senate leaders aren’t yet ready to climb aboard the prison reform bandwagon. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell plans to conduct a count of votes in the Senate once he sees the entire bill.

As a matter of principle, though, this loosening of federal prison sentencing is long overdue. Judges need some flexibility when issuing these sentences. They should be able to consider varying standards for sentencing the way state judges are entitled to do.

Well done, Mr. President.