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Newsbrief:
Ashcroft
Says
No
Plea
Bargains
in
Latest
Bid
to
Send
America
to
Prison
Forever
9/26/03
Attorney General John Ashcroft
announced this week that he is ordering federal prosecutors to limit the
use of plea bargains and to go for the throat in charging and sentencing
defendants in criminal cases. The policy shift is only the latest
in a series of moves by Ashcroft this year to make federal prison sentences
harsher and to restrain federal judges who increasingly balk at sending
low-level offenders to prison for decades. "Federal prosecutors must
charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offenses that are
supported by the facts," Ashcroft said in a memo to US attorneys released
Monday. "Charges should not be filed simply to exert leverage to
get a plea."
Under the new Ashcroft directive,
plea bargains would still be permitted, but only if defendants agreed to
cooperate in ongoing investigations. The new guidelines also generously
allow for plea bargains in cases where "the possible maximum sentence is
unaffected by the agreement," when it appears the government is losing,
or on a case-by-case basis with written approval from a supervisor.
The move comes on the heels
of Ashcroft's efforts earlier this year to see the federal death penalty
applied more broadly and to order prosecutors to appeal cases where judges
have handed down sentences below federal sentencing guidelines. This
latest policy shift is sure to further inflame the growing national debate
over John Ashcroft's temperament and fitness to serve as Attorney General,
a concern held not only by drug reformers and prisoner interest groups,
but a growing number of organizations and individuals concerned about Ashcroft's
behavior in both the war on drugs and the war on terror.
The Associated Press reported
that when asked about his new policy in Milwaukee on Monday, Ashcroft described
his goal as equal justice. "It's important that when the law is broken
in Milwaukee, it's attended by the same consequences as when it's broken
in Denver," he said.
-- END --
|
Issue #304, 9/26/03
Editorial:
Patients vs. Prosecutors |
Pain Doctor Arrests
Provoke Backlash -- Group Urges FDA to Stop Cooperating With Justice Department |
Cheryl Miller
Memorial Project Does DC |
Hawaii Meth Mania:
Drug Summit, Media Push Target "Ice" |
Playing It Smart:
Sensible Seattle and the Winning of I-75 |
Newsbrief:
Dr. Hurwitz Indicted, Jailed in Campaign Against Pain Doctors |
Newsbrief:
MAPS-Sponsored Ecstasy Research Wins Final FDA Approval |
Newsbrief:
Rio de Janeiro Jails Stuffed With Drug Offenders |
Newsbrief:
UN Warns Stimulants "Public Enemy Number One," Cites Flawed Science, Attacks
"Liberalization" |
Newsbrief:
This Week's Corrupt Cops Story |
Newsbrief:
Cannabis Tolerance Showing Up in India |
Newsbrief:
Canadian Government to Appeal BC Marijuana Legalization Ruling |
Newsbrief:
Drug War Sparking Death Squad Killings Again in Philippines |
Newsbrief:
Ashcroft Says No Plea Bargains in Latest Bid to Send America to Prison
Forever |
Newsbrief:
Mandatory Minimum Sentences Unfair, Says Supreme Court Justice |
This Week
in History |
Current Action
Alerts: Medical Marijuana, Plan Colombia, HEA, Ashcroft's Attack
on Judicial Discretion |
Perry Fund
Accepting Applications for 2003-2004 and 2004-2005 School Years, Providing
Scholarships for Students Losing Aid Because of Drug Convictions |
Errata:
Last Week's Corrupt Cops Story |
The Reformer's
Calendar
|
This issue -- main page
This issue -- single-file printer version
Drug War Chronicle -- main page
Chronicle archives
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