United States Justice Department Changes Drug Sentencing Policy
08/16/2013
U.S. Attorney Gen. Eric Holder announced drug sentencing changes this week.
From VOA Learning English, this is As It Is.
Hi and welcome back. I’m Caty Weaver. Today, on the program we talk about some legal news from the United States.
Earlier this week, the highest law enforcement officer in the United States announced some changes to how the government will deal with drug offenses. Attorney General Eric Holder said one of his aims was to ease the overcrowding problem in American prisons. Faith Lapidus has more on the story.
Mr. Holder announced several policy changes in a speech to the American Bar Association meeting in San Francisco, California. He said too many citizens were going to prison for far too long. He said his main concern was low-level drug crimes that often carry required prison sentences of five or ten years.
The official said the federal government will now follow the lead of several states that use drug treatment programs and community service programs to deal with non-violent drug offenders. He said such offenders would not include people connected with criminal gangs or drug groups.
“Widespread incarceration at the federal, state and local levels is both ineffective and unsustainable. It imposes a significant economic burden totaling $80 billion in 2010 alone, and it comes with human and moral costs that are impossible to calculate.”
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