Holder Orders Prosecutors to Remove Any Reference to Quantities Of Illicit Drugs that Trigger Mandatory Minimums And To Apply Provision to Pending Cases
Bipartisan Support Grows In Congress for Overhauling U.S. Drug Laws
Attorney General Eric Holder and the Obama Administration are continuing to push for reforms of draconian drug sentencing policies that have resulted in the U.S. federal prison population skyrocketing over the past three decades. The White House announced that they will curtail federal mandatory minimum drug laws by ordering prosecutors to remove any references to specific amounts of illegal drugs that trigger mandatory minimum sentences.
Holder also ordered prosecutors to refile charges against defendants in pending cases and to apply the new policy to defendants who are already in the system but have not yet been sentenced.
“I must say I’m impressed at the speed and specificity with which Mr. Holder has followed up on last month’s comments,” said Ethan Nadelmann, executive director of the Drug Policy Alliance (DPA). “This looks like a major good faith effort to reform federal drug sentencing laws as much as possible given the constraints of federal law and judicial prerogative over sentencing.”