Attorney General Eric Holder to propose decreased use of harsh sentences for certain drug-related crimes...

[in2thethickofit]

Excerpt from the article today in the NY Times:

With the U.S. facing massive overcrowding in its prisons, Attorney General Eric Holder is calling for major changes to the nation?s criminal justice system that would scale back the use of harsh sentences for certain drug-related crimes.
In remarks prepared for delivery to the American Bar Association in San Francisco, Holder also favors diverting people convicted of low-level offenses to drug treatment and community service programs and expanding a prison program to allow for release of some elderly, non-violent offenders.
?We need to ensure that incarceration is used to punish, deter and rehabilitate ? not merely to convict, warehouse and forget,? Holder says in the speech he?s scheduled to deliver Monday.




Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/pol...ustice-system-article-1.1424283#ixzz2bm8iwCWg

I personally feel this a good idea, what do you think?

 

[rito]

Re: Attorney General Eric Holder to propose decreased use of harsh sentences for certain drug-related crimes...

Mandatory minimums are a disaster. Spending 500k to lock someone up for 15 years because they had 5grams of coke is the dumbest thing ever. They should decriminalize all non-violent drug crimes.

 

[in2thethickofit]

Re: Attorney General Eric Holder to propose decreased use of harsh sentences for certain drug-related crimes...

No idea why this was moved. I fully agree with you, rito. Such a drain on all of us and such a waste of a persons life when they could possibly be given the help they need for FAR less money. We have become a country of profit for the prisons themselves. What a waste of resources!

 

[Balco]

Re: Attorney General Eric Holder to propose decreased use of harsh sentences for certain drug-related crimes...

disaster! :shoot:

 

[Balco]

Re: Attorney General Eric Holder to propose decreased use of harsh sentences for certain drug-related crimes...

Give them life sentences and or kill these threats in prison. Overcrowding then water board them to get more criminals of the streets.

 

[Joe Contrarian]

Re: Attorney General Eric Holder to propose decreased use of harsh sentences for certain drug-related crimes...

You can't legalize drugs in a nanny state, otherwise taxpayers end up subsidizing narcotic users.

Unless the left is prepared to roll back their socialist bureaucracies, this issue is a non-starter.

Of course Eric Holder wants drugs decriminalized -- more zombies voting for his deviant party.

 

[Joe Contrarian]

Re: Attorney General Eric Holder to propose decreased use of harsh sentences for certain drug-related crimes...

Give them life sentences and or kill these threats in prison. Overcrowding then water board them to get more criminals of the streets.

Yep. Just like Singapore.

Singapore currently has the most effective drug laws on the planet, while its citizens also enjoy a higher level of economic freedom than Americans.

Section 17 of the Misuse of Drugs Act lists the amount of controlled drugs beyond which, the person who carries them shall be presumed to possess them for the purpose of drug trafficking unless proven otherwise:

• opium: 100 grams (3.5 oz) [MDP for over 1,200 grams (42 oz)]
• morphine: 3 grams (0.11 oz) [MDP for over 30 grams (1.1 oz)]
• diamorphine (heroin): 2 grams (0.071 oz) [MDP for over 15 grams (0.53 oz)]
• cannabis: 15 grams (0.53 oz) [MDP for over 500 grams (18 oz)]
• cannabis mixture: 30 grams (1.1 oz) [MDP for over 500 grams (18 oz)]
• cannabis resin: 15 grams (0.53 oz) [MDP for over 100 grams (3.5 oz)]
• cocaine: 3 grams (0.11 oz) [MDP for over 30 grams (1.1 oz)]
• hashish: 10 grams (0.35 oz) [MDP for over 200 grams (7.1 oz)]
• methamphetamine: 25 grams (0.88 oz) [MDP for over 250 grams (8.8 oz)]
• 10 grams (0.35 oz) of any or any combination of the following:
  • N, α-dimethyl-3,4-(methylenedioxy)phenethylamine (MDMA)
  • α-methyl-3,4-(methylenedioxy)phenethylamine (MDA)
  • N-ethyl-α-methyl-3,4-(methylenedioxy)phenethylamine (MDEA)

MDP = Mandatory Death Penalty under Singaporean law.[SUP][1][/SUP]

The possession, consumption, manufacturing, import, export, or trafficking of these and other controlled drugs in any amount are illegal. Persons caught with less than the Mandatory Death Penalty amounts of these controlled substances face penalties ranging from caning (up to 24 strokes) to life in prison. Pursuant to a law change in 2009, cannabis (marijuana) and marijuana mixtures (diluted with other substances) are treated the same under Singapore law—the presumed intent is trafficking.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misuse_of_Drugs_Act_(Singapore)