DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Everything Else... Sessions' tough on crime talk could lead to fuller prisons

https://www.yahoo.com/news/sessions-tough-crime-talk-could-lead-fuller-prisons-132627646.html

WASHINGTON (AP) — The federal prison population is on the decline, but a new attorney general who talks tough on drugs and crime and already has indicated a looming need for private prison cells seems poised to usher in a reversal of that trend.

Jeff Sessions, a former federal prosecutor sworn in this month as the country's chief law enforcement officer, signaled at his confirmation hearing — and during private meetings in his first days on the job — that he sees a central role for the federal government in combating drug addiction and violence as well as in strict enforcement of immigration laws.

The result could be in an increase not only in the number of drug prosecutions brought by the Justice Department but also in the average length of sentence prosecutors pursue for even lower-level criminals. If that happens, the resources of a prison system that for years has struggled with overcrowding, but experienced a population drop as Justice Department leaders pushed a different approach to drug prosecutions, could be taxed again.

"Given the rhetoric coming out of the White House and the selection of Sessions as attorney general, an increase in the federal prison population and a chilling effect on state reforms is a very real possibility," said Inimai Chettiar, justice program director at the Brennan Center for Justice.

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The approach by Session, a former Alabama senator, to drug crimes will matter in courtrooms across the country and also to the Justice Department's bottom line.

More than half of federal prisoners are in custody for drug crimes, and the Bureau of Prisons budget accounts for about one-third of the department's overall $29 billion spending plan. The population ballooned during the 1980s-era war on drugs as Congress abolished parole and as federal prosecutors relied on mandatory minimum sentences — rigid punishments strictly tied to drug quantity — to seek decades-long prison terms for drug criminals.

But in recent years, fiscal-minded Republicans, and Democrats pushing criminal justice efforts, have raised concerns about bloated prison costs and tried to develop ways to cut the population. The Justice Department's inspector general has said mounting prison expenses detract from other programs and initiatives, and a 2014 Government Accounting Office report said overcrowding at bureau facilities had caused additional double- and triple-bunking, higher inmate-to-guard ratios and long waiting lists for educational programs.

The federal prison population now stands at just under 190,000, down from a peak of nearly 220,000 in the summer of 2013.


A number of factors contributed to the decline: Obama administration clemency grants to more than 1,700 inmates; decisions by the independent U.S. Sentencing Commission to reduce drug sentencing guidelines and apply the changes retroactively; and a 2013 Justice Department initiative known as "Smart on Crime," in which then-Attorney General Eric Holder directed prosecutors not to seek mandatory minimum sentences for nonviolent and low-level offenders.

Justice Department officials in the Obama administration say their efforts to shrink the prison population were driven not only by cost concerns but also by a desire to correct what they said were excessive punishments doled out by judges. They say that while the number of prosecutions has fallen, the average length of sentence has increased as prosecutors target more serious offenders.

Sessions hasn't made policy pronouncements on drug prosecutions in his two weeks on the job. So it's possible that as attorney general, he'll maintain the department's focus on high-value traffickers and that cost concerns will spur recidivism and re-entry efforts to keep the prison population in check.

But there are already signs of a starkly different approach.

On Thursday, Sessions gave the green light to the continued use of privately run prisons, even though the Obama administration had moved to phase them out as no longer necessary given the declining prison population. Sessions said in a memo that the last administration went against long-standing Justice Department policy and practice and "impaired the Bureau's ability to meet the future needs of the federal correctional system."

On the same day, the White House suggested he'd more aggressively go after marijuana.

"It's pretty safe to say that most people assume that the Sessions Justice Department is likely to scale back some of the reforms that were implemented under the Obama administration," said Nancy La Vigne, director of the justice policy center at the Urban Institute.

Sessions, who said last year that "good people don't smoke marijuana," warned at his January confirmation hearing that illegal drugs were bringing "violence, addiction and misery" to America, and he pledged to dismantle drug trafficking gangs.

He did sponsor legislation to reduce sentencing disparities between powder and crack cocaine — a gap seen as disadvantaging black defendants. But last year, Sessions opposed bipartisan criminal justice overhaul efforts and has said that eliminating or reducing mandatory minimum sentences weakens the ability of law enforcement to protect the public.

That focus on drug crimes surfaced in the 1980s when Sessions served as United States attorney for the Southern District of Alabama. Drug cases accounted for 40 percent of his office's convictions, according to a Brennan Center analysis, with Sessions overseeing the prosecution of defendants, including Key West, Florida, residents who smuggled marijuana into Alabama aboard a shrimp boat.

Tougher enforcement of drug laws could be welcomed by some law enforcement officials, including Justice Department prosecutors who felt hamstrung in recent years in their ability to seek long sentences.


"That's what we pay the prison system to do, and that's what we ought to be doing is putting these serious violent offenders in prison," said Steve Cook, the president of the National Association of Assistant United States Attorneys. "The answer to the crime problem is not to remove them and turn back out into the communities. We already know what's going to happen if we do that."

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Sessions down with increase use of private prisons, White House wanting a tougher stance on weed.

Thanks, trump supporters. Jail people in the name of profits. The land of the free.

If you can't do the time, don't do the crime.

Law abiding citizens come first and will rule the streets again.

Private Prisons, about the dumbest idea ever.

What incentive does a Private Prison have to reform anyone? For a private prison, wouldn't it make much more sense to try to ensure that those that pass through come back?


And locking up minor drug offenders on mandatory sentences is pretty stupid too. It's just a waste of everyone's time and money.

I agree, but apparently people are more than happy to lock people up for minor drug offenses, as long as their drug of choice (alcohol, cigarettes, opioids) remain legal.

But of course.

We don't agree on much Swish, but here we do.

My wife was watching this documentary last night, something called 13 on Netflix. I was sorta fading in and out during the thing, but it basically talks a lot about how the Justice system is set up to go after African-Americans. It made some good points. Especially what was said about Sessions with how Crack vs Cocaine was viewed and enforced.


Same case with Opiods I guess. Can't lock up all the housewife addicts, nor all the doctors prescribing Synthetic Heroin to people. And we can't slow things down for the Pharmacudical Industry. Instead we'll go after the pot smokers. Cause "They're bad people" lol.

Unbelievable. I can't smoke pot because of my job, but you can bet your bottom I wish I could. And it wouldn't make me less productive or a bad person. Of course, alcohol, no big deal..... Yet I've never seen an episode of Cops where some stoned dude is beating his wife or fighting folks in the streets. And I've never seen someone stoned driving through a crowd of people like what just happened in New Orleans. Same with that woman in the Oklahoma State Parade Crash. But she was just drunk, and alcohol is okay, marijuana not so much.

i agree.

have you seen those photo's the cops show of the people hooked on opioids passed out in the car, sometimes with their kids still in the back seat.

i'm not exaggerating bro, it made me tear up. we live in a society where doctors are encouraged to prescribe opioids, which gets millions of people addicted, but if we smoke a joint, we're considered the bad guys.

Did I miss something in the original post? Where does it say people are getting locked up for smoking a joint?

What do you guys consider minor drug crimes anyhow?

the White house has already said they will consider cracking down on marijuana.

combined with sessions and private prisons....we've already seen this play out.

pay attention. the War on drugs is a failure, but of course these idiots want to start this up again.

private prison systems has always been a way to encourage "tough on crime" rhetoric. fill them up, get paid.

Who's Really in Prison for Marijuana?

https://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/pdf/whos_in_prison_for_marij.pdf

And then there's guy's like 50 year old Bernard Noble in Louisiana, sentenced to 13 years for two joints worth of Marijuana.

Sentenced reduced to eight years recently, but still absolutely ridiculous...........

So it is your BELIEF they will be arresting people for having a joint. I see.

Now again, what do you guys think are minor drug crimes?

A joint? An ounce, a pound for weed?

How much Heroin or coke etc is minor to you?

What I have seen that really works in taking back the streets is for local police to crack down on every minor crime they see, especially in troubled areas of a city. It gives them a reason to stop you, question you, and search you because you have committed a minor offense. If nothing bigger is found, they can release you with a warning.

Gulianni did it in NY and it worked.

stats on it

https://www.aclu.org/gallery/marijuana-arrests-numbers

also, this isn't just about weed, but everything else. private prisons incentivizes harsher penalties in order to fill up the prison system. it's a trap.

we're the "land of the free" yet are #1 in prison population.

Well I looked at your FACTS and I looked at Fish's FACTS and found them to be polar opposites.

I wouldn't want to see people locked up for small amounts of weed but I do think it can be used for police to stop and search people.

We are, as you say, the land of the free but when a gang takes over your neighborhood, only they are the free ones.

Wait! What?

Do you think the prison system that has existed for the duration of our existence and still exists today is about "reforming anyone?"

I don't recall hearing about people sitting at home doing nothing wrong just smoking some weed and beer and having the police raid their house and busting them for minor drug offense. Usually the person is doing something wrong traffic violation , fighting or something and during the search they have small amounts of drugs on them and usually the ones with attitudes are the ones who get charged and the ones who are truthful and respect the officer are often given a break for small amounts (joint) and most of the time the reason they get pulled over is because of alcohol.

People can't be reformed if they don't want to be, that would require effort and if they could do that they probably wouldn't be there in the first place.

I agree that private prisons are stupid and I don't really have a problem with legalizing recreational weed.. but those folks strung out like that on opioids, they aren't legal as you asserted in your original post.

Opioids are legal when prescribed and taken under a doctors supervision because they serve a medical purpose.

Sure, but often, they're over prescribed, and folks get hooked, and end up looking like those people passed out in those cars.


The availability of Oxi-Contin has destroyed my friend's lives much more than Marijuana, Mushrooms, or even Cocaine has. The makers of that drug knew what was happening and never did anything about it. The family that owns the company that created it (Sackler Family) lives right in Greenwich CT. They have children in Highschools. They knew what was happening. It's an absolute menace. The pharma industry might as well be as big a drug cartel as any out there

And the doctors overprescribing that crap destroy lives just like crack dealers in the projects.



Heroin is as addictive and awful as any drug out there. And the heroin epidemic that our society is going through is a direct result of overprescribing of pain killers from our medical/pharmaceutical industries.

My .02....we won't ever be able to arrest our way out the heroin epidemic. That's the wrong way to approach the problem.

I had neck surgery where they had to remove, yes remove, two discs and one entire vertebra. They were replaced with plastic and metal.

I was given Oxy for the pain and was on them for a long time.
One day I tried switching to Ibu's for the day but the pain was still too great. Another week and another try. This time the pain was bad but I sucked it up. Each day I used Ibu's and the pain became manageable.

A week after switching over I decided to take some Oxy's one evening and enjoyed it. The next morning I realized I took it for the pleasure of it, not for pain. I got the rest of the prescription, about 20 pills, and mixed them with my coffee grounds in the garbage. Gone.

When I returned to the doc, he asked if I needed more Oxy's and I told him no, I was done with them and taking Ibu's.

There is only one person in my world who decides if I am an addict or not and that is me. It is my responsibility to myself.

I tell everyone who will listen what I told myself...

Suck it up, buttercup! You call the shots!

*LOL* .. whats your solution ... give it to them for free .... seems thats your solution to everything ...

You really are in rare form today. Haters gotta hate. #highroad

This explains so much. Thanks for sharing buttercup.

I agree with everything but I would have to question the last part. That is the first I've heard of pain killers be responsible for the heroin epidemic. Not saying you are wrong, just never heard that causation before.

I've heard of it. I don't know if it's the prevailing reason, but yeah, I def. think there is a relation there.

People get hooked on opioids - even if they were prescribed legally at first. They get re-fills, and re-fills, then the dr. says "no more". They try another dr. (can't get them - it's interesting how that works - know prescription abusers get entered into a data base so other drs. know).

They go to the e.r. etc, etc.......then they try to buy them on the street. Then they find out heroin is cheaper.

It does happen.

agreed.

and it's happening more than most think.

''Tis the way the world works.

Marijuana is bad, but here, he's some adderall and Ritalin for you're "ADHD", and here's some opioids for all pain management.

But heavy forbid we smoke weed. My bad..I mean the devils lettuce!!!

I asked my Doctor about the issue and he said it mostly comes down to the fact that opiates have a $30.00 copay minimum and if you try to pay for them yourself they cost hundreds.

He said people are discovering the fact that Heroin only costs $8.00 to $10.00.

The addiction problem lies with the Heroin, not the prescribed opiates.

Exactly. When OC's aren't available/too expensive (at least most folks I know were on Oxi), Heroin was the next option. And it isn't always those prescribed that get hooked. I mean, it's sold right on the street. And doing OC's sounds a lot better than doing Heroin. As stupid as it sounds, at least when my friends were starting it, it didn't have the same stigma.

I mean, take a look at the numbers. The rise of Pain Killer use and the rise of heroin. Just look at this article. It shows you how insane it is.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/29/health/gupta-unintended-consequences/



But that's our country. There's a pill for everything. And the pharma industry with all their lobbyists just laugh their way to the bank.

No disputing what you (and your doctor) are saying.

But it CAN be asserted that the scrips are 'gateway drugs' to a true addiction.

So the prob is multi-faceted... and the answers will have to be, as well.

I'd like to know who you all see as dr's. on this pain killer stuff. My wife and I were in and out of the Hospital this past year quite alot, and every time either of us went in to see the Dr. the first thing the nurse or the Dr. said, depending on who was there first, was what can I get you to help you? Anything EXCEPT for the PAIN. We can't do anything about your pain. I guess I should have asked why. But this came from 2 different Hospitals and Dr's. So it's not like it's a one time thing. I guessed at the times it was for the narcotics and they did not want to give that out.

When I worked as an intern at this low income muslim dr office it would be standing room only on "pain management day". I cant say I know what went on but it was literally packed to the point people were standing in line outside.

My girlfriend just had an outpatient procedure. The doctor wrote a script for 40 norco. She only had half of the script filled because she doubted she'd need 40 tabs. She ended up taking a half tablet. The rest of her discomfort she managed with ibuprofen.
Doctors routinely over prescribe. It prevents them from being 'bothered' for more medications a few days after a procedure. Sadly many people end up abusing or selling the left overs.

This is what it is coming to. Doctors will stop treating for pain.
My Doctor told me he will always treat his patients for pain. He will try Ibu's then Opioids for a period of time. The last thing is to send his patients to the Pain Clinic where they have steriod injections, nerve blockers and electronic devises and such.

the Army gave me 2 steroid injections in my Achilles tendon.

my god i never felt anything close to that level of pain.

I just thought it was funny, all I hear about is how Dr's. keep pushing the Meds. on you. And the whole Yr., My Wife and I are going through different things, while the Good Doc.'s are saying Anything you want EXCEPT For Pain. I'm just glad I'm not in pain

Had that same shot 2 weeks ago. Ouch! Bigly.

Few years ago my wife had surgery, on a wednesday I believe. The first pain med wasn't touching her pain, so, next day I called the doc, he sent in a script for something stronger. Still no relief.

(now, 2 things: my wife is as tough as any woman I know of when dealing with pain, (and probably tougher than many men), of all sorts, really - but she couldn't move. That's why I called the doc a third time. Those first 2 pain meds - I'll probably have the order wrong, but I think the original script was for percocet, second one was for valium, and the 3rd 1 was for oxy.......but I had to go to meet him at the hospital for that one, as apparently he couldn't just call that in to the pharmacy.)

Still no relief - well, very little.

Another call to the doc: "something is wrong" "bring her in Monday morning."

Well, turns out she was full of infection, because the doc, and he even admitted this, said "looks like I nicked her kidney during the surgery."

We got some antibiotics for the infection, and wow, didn't take long and wifey was feeling somewhat better.


(truthfully, I think we might still have the left over valium, percocet, etc. )

Jc. Had OC after my disc fusion in my neck and again after my hip replacement and couldn't take them after a few days because they gave me vicious headaches . Hip wasn't so bad but the neck surgery was a monster trying to deal with without pain meds. Believe it or not essential oils helped tremendously much to the delight of my wife who is a fanatic about them .

There was this story in the news about this woman who stabbed her dog so the vet would prescribe pain meds that she then took. It was really horrible.