Soon Iraq's justice system will be fairer than ours
Quote of note:
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has acknowledged that the status quo isn't working. " 'Tough on crime' should not be a substitute for thoughtful reflection or lead us into moral blindness," he said last month in accepting recommendations for change from the American Bar Assn. Among the group's sound suggestions: repeal mandatory minimums, create treatment alternatives to prison for some drug offenders and those with mental illness, and better prepare inmates for life after prison.
July 6, 2004
Federal prison sentences in the United States are rigidly defined, often disproportionate to the crime and too long. This general unfairness aside, the cost to taxpayers is needlessly high. Even so, lawmakers scared to death of being viewed as soft on crime won't touch sentencing laws. They should grab the opportunity and cover provided by the Supreme Court and a pair of federal judges to change the federal law and state laws spawned by it.
Judges in Boston and Salt Lake City, in separate recent cases, ruled that the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 was unconstitutional in its harshness. The Supreme Court's criticism last month focused on state laws but nonetheless signals Congress to fix the law.
