The Justice Department moved Wednesday to significantly expand the number of people eligible for clemency, issuing new guidelines allowing certain prisoners who already have served at least 10 years behind bars to apply for release.
The initiative is part of a broader Obama administration effort to ease sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.
Deputy Attorney General James Cole outlined the changes, which include six separate criteria inmates must meet to be eligible, on Wednesday morning. Among the requirements is that inmates must have served at least 10 years of their federal sentence and not have a "significant criminal history." They must be "non-violent, low-level offenders" with no significant ties to major gangs, have a record of good conduct in prison and have no history of violence.
Finally, the process will be open to those who likely would have gotten a lesser sentence if convicted of the same offense today.
"Older, stringent punishments that are out of line with sentences imposed under today's laws erode people's confidence in our criminal justice system. I am confident that this initiative will go far to promote the most fundamental of American ideals -- equal justice under the law," Cole said.
He said the department plans to launch the initiative "quickly and effectively."
Cole suggested attorneys in the Justice Department are on board, though separate efforts to curb mandatory minimum sentencing have drawn complaints from the rank and file.
The National Association of Assistant Untied States Attorneys wrote to Attorney General Eric Holder in January arguing that the current sentencing system is "worth preserving" -- and that mandatory minimums give prosecutors "leverage to secure cooperation from defendants."Read the rest of the story HERE.
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