U.S. Attorney General Against Mandatory Minimum Sentences July 7, 2009
Posted by FairSentencing in : Current News , trackbackJulie Stewart, with Families Against Mandatory Minimums, writes:
I’ve waited for this day for a long time. The day the Attorney General of the United States would say he favors individualized sentencing and is against one-size-fits-all approaches. And following him to the podium would be a current justice of the U.S. Supreme Court saying that he believes repealing mandatory minimums, though very difficult to explain to people, is the right thing to do.
That day finally came – yesterday.
I was invited to join Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, Attorney General Eric Holder, several federal judges and a host of other distinguished speakers at a symposium on sentencing reform.
During their remarks, both Justice Breyer and Attorney General Holder criticized “mechanical” sentencing that does not allow for consideration of the factors involved in each case. Both stated that they thought it was time for reforming our sentencing laws. The Attorney General said he believed “we have a moment of time that must be seized.” And Justice Breyer said, “It is a new day and we must think in new ways,” to fix our sentencing problems.
I wish you could have been there yesterday to hear all of the encouraging words of support for sentencing reform. We’re taking the Attorney General’s words to heart: It is time to seize the moment and make sentencing reform a reality – finally!
Follow this link to learn more about the event and to read the Attorney General’s and my statements.
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Comments»
I am wondering why measure 11 was activated.