2014-07-19 11:30:00

United States Commission reduces sentening guidelines for drug trafficing


(Vatican Radio) The United States Sentencing Commission on Friday voted unanimously to apply a reduction in the sentencing guideline levels applicable to most federal drug trafficking offenders retroactively, meaning that many offenders currently in prison could be eligible  for reduced sentences beginning November 2015.

The Commission is an independent agency of the judicial branch of the federal government responsible for articulating the sentencing guidelines for the United States federal courts.

The Commission voted unanimously in April to amend the guidelines to lower the base offense levels in  the Drug Quantity Table across drug types, which may mean lower sentences for most drug offenders  going forward, which was extended to offenders currently in prison by Friday’s decision.

The Chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development and the president of Catholic Charities USA, had earlier in the month urged the Commission to make the change.

"The United States imprisons more people per capita than any other nation in the world at a cost of approximately $80 billion annually," Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski of Miami, Committee chair, and Father Larry Snyder, Catholic Charities USA's president, wrote in a July 7 letter. "Rigid sentences for non-violent offenses are not only costly and ineffective, but can be detrimental to the good of persons, families, and communities. Prolonged incarceration often contributes to family instability and poverty and can contribute to recidivism."

Archbishop Wenski and Father Snyder added that the justice system should promote healing and restoration. "Our Catholic tradition supports the community's right to establish and enforce laws that protect people and advance the common good. But our faith teaches us that both victims and offenders have a God-given dignity that calls for justice and restoration, not vengeance. Contrition, restitution and rehabilitation can better serve the cause of justice than simply punishment for the sake of punishment," they wrote.








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