Over the past 40 years, the 老澳门开奖结果 and criminal justice advocates around the country have worked tirelessly to overcome our nation鈥檚 obsession with the unjust and ineffective 鈥渨ar on drugs.鈥� Although we have experienced disappointments during these years, in recent weeks, we have seen the tide turn in favor of fairer and more just drug policies. First, on June 30, the United States Sentencing Commission voted to the new Fair Sentencing Act (FSA) guidelines to individuals sentenced before the law was enacted.
Then, last week, after helping ensure fairness in federal sentencing by the retroactive application of the new FSA guidelines to some people, Attorney General Eric Holder has now issued revised guidance regarding the prosecution of pending crack cocaine cases. In the new guidance, the attorney general directed U.S. attorneys to charge pending cases consistent with the . Previously, the Department of Justice had instructed prosecutors to apply the 鈥渙ld law鈥� in cases that took place before the FSA was signed into law.
The attorney general鈥檚 new position would require seeking sentences consistent with the FSA, for defendants who have not yet been sentenced, regardless of whether their conduct took place before or after the August 3, 2010 enactment of the FSA. Under the FSA, the crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity, which falls disproportionately on African-Americans, was lowered from 100:1 to 18:1.
The new guidance is the fair and honorable position for the department and is consistent with its support for applying the new FSA guidelines retroactively to some offenders. While the Justice Department鈥檚 decision to change this guidance comes better late than never, I wonder how those who have been sentenced over the past year under DOJ鈥檚 鈥渙ld鈥� guidance will now receive justice.
Still, we are encouraged by the Justice Department鈥檚 recent commitment to racial justice and proportionality in sentencing and hope it will continue to work to ensure that our criminal justice system upholds these fundamental values.
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