Sentencing Reform
November 20, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Yesterday, I wrote about President Trump’s support for what Sen. Tom Cotton calls jailbreak legislation. That legislation, known as FIRST STEP, enables the early release from federal prison of most categories of federal felons and sets lower mandatory minimum sentences for many federal drug felons. Yesterday’s post focused on the politics of FIRST STEP. Today, I want to focus on how the legislation would affect fentanyl dealers. I focus on
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November 14, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
FIRST STEP — the leniency legislation being pushed by the left, by some conservatives, and by Jared Kushner — is the gift that keeps on giving to federal felons of all stripes. Much of the leniency is extended to federal drug felons, a group that does not include citizens who merely possessed marijuana. But it also encompasses many sex offenders. FIRST STEP provides for the early release from prison of
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November 14, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Team leniency — the folks who favor shorter sentences for federal drug felons and favor letting federal felons of all stripes out of jail before their sentences have been fully served — promised it would push for such legislation as soon as the elections were over. They have kept this promise by renewing the drive to enact FIRST STEP legislation. Whether leniency legislation is enacted ultimately depends, I think, on
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November 12, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Later this afternoon, I will be the guest of Seth Leibsohn on KKNT 960—”The Patriot”—in Arizona. I’m schedule to appear at 6:30 Eastern Time. We will be discussing FIRST STEP, the leniency for drug felons legislation I wrote about yesterday.
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November 11, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Team leniency — the folks who favor shorter sentences for federal drug felon and favor letting these felons out of jail before their sentences have been fully served — promised it would push for such legislation as soon as the elections were over. They weren’t going to push for it before the elections because leniency legislation is massively unpopular. Now that the elections are safely behind them, leniency supporters have
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November 2, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
I wrote here about Jason Pye’s attack on those who oppose leniency legislation for federal drug felons. One of my arguments addressed his claim that we shouldn’t fear that leniency legislation will cause dangerous felons to be released from prison early. Why is this not a valid concern? Because, says Pye, decisions about releasing felons will use “risk and needs assessment to determine [a prisoner’s] risk of reoffending.” I countered
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October 31, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Jason Pye of Freedom Works has a column in the Hill defending the First Step Act. . .sort of. It’s mostly an attack on those who oppose this leniency legislation. Pye calls opponents “reactionaries” and accuses us of dishonesty and fear-mongering. But name-calling is no substitute for argument, and when Pye gets around to actually arguing, he consistently hides the ball. Pye writes: Opponents claim that violent crime is rising
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October 26, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Inevitably, Democrats and their partners in the mainstream media want to focus on the political leanings of the man suspected of sending packages to leading leftists. However, Daniel Horowitz contends that the real story here is “jailbreak,” i.e., the failure to put criminals behind bars and keep them there. I agree that this is a key element of the story. The suspect apparently has a lengthy rap sheet that included
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September 5, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
I hope not, but there’s reason for concern. This morning, the White House announced: Members of the Administration are hosting a listening session about the clemency process. The discussion is mainly focused on ways to improve that process to ensure deserving cases receive a fair review. Here is the list of those who were to participate: INTERNAL ATTENDEES: Jared Kushner Ja’Ron Smith Brooke Rollins Chris Liddell EXTERNAL ATTENDEES: Rachel Barkow
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August 28, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
John Malcolm of the Heritage Foundation has responded to my critique of his article defending the leniency-for-criminals legislation being pushed in the Senate. I appreciate his response. Like a good lawyer writing a reply brief, Malcolm begins by citing the points he made that I didn’t dispute. Let me begin by returning the favor. Here are points I made that Malcolm does not dispute. I consider them decisive. First, Malcolm
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August 26, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Last week, it was determined that the leniency-for-drug felons legislation being pushed by Democrats and some Republicans will not be brought to the Senate floor before the November elections. Left open was the question of whether it will be brought to the Senate floor afterwards. The answer to that question lies, I believe, in the position President Trump takes. If he supports leniency-for-felons legislation, it might well get a floor
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August 23, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
This morning, President Trump attacked his Attorney General, Jeff Sessions, once again. He complained that Sessions “never took control of the Justice Department.” Trump fails here to distinguish between taking control of the Russia investigation and taking control of the Justice Department generally. He also fails to recognize that it’s not the Attorney General’s job to protect the president or to promote his political interests — to be the president’s
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August 23, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
At a White House meeting this afternoon, President Trump reportedly decided that the leniency-for-criminals legislation Jared Kushner, Sen. Chuck Grassley, and a host of liberal Democrats have been pushing is too politically difficult to endorse before the elections. Let’s hope he understands that the legislation is politically fraught after the elections, as well. The legislation is also terrible policy. This point is forcefully made in the following letter, hand-delivered to
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August 22, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Our old friend Sen. Tom Cotton joined our old friend Hugh Hewitt on Hugh’s radio program to discuss the leniency-for-criminals legislation that has been picking up steam in the Senate. Tom forcefully stated the case against passing such legislation, especially in the midst of the opioid epidemic. Hugh and Tom discussed a recent tragic episode of which I was unaware. In New Haven, Connecticut, in one park, 70 people overdosed
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August 21, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Last week, Sen. Tom Cotton wrote an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal opposing the lenient sentencing legislation now under serious consideration by Congress. I summarized Sen. Cotton’s article here. John Malcolm and Brett Tolman of the Heritage Foundation have responded to Cotton. They deny that the legislation is soft on crime. Malcolm is a respected conservative legal analyst. I’m not familiar with Tolman, but I’m confident he is too.
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August 16, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Our friend Sen. Tom Cotton has written an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal opposing the latest jailbreak legislation that I discussed here. He argues: [U]nder no circumstances should Congress cut mandatory minimum sentences for serious crimes or give judges more discretion to reduce those sentences. That foolish approach is not criminal-justice reform—it’s a jailbreak that would endanger communities and undercut President Trump’s campaign promise to restore law and order.
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August 15, 2018 — Paul Mirengoff
Three years ago, liberal Democrats and naive Republicans pushed hard for leniency-for-criminals legislation. It provided for a sharp reduction of mandatory minimum sentences for drug felons, to be applied retroactively so as to free many thousands of drug felons before they completed their sentences. The leniency legislation also included “corrections reform.” The focus here was on ways to rehabilitate prisoners, using methods that sponsors claimed, quite speciously, have worked well
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