We post news and comment on federal criminal justice issues, focused primarily on trial and post-conviction matters, legislative initiatives, and sentencing issues.
BIDEN FACES EARLY TEST ON COMMITMENT TO MANDATORY MINIMUMS
In 2018, the Drug Enforcement Agency temporarily placed an entire class of compounds with chemical structures similar to fentanyl on the Schedule 1 list of drugs prohibited by federal law. Fentanyl analogs vary in potency, but even a trace of any of these compounds in a batch of drugs can trigger a lengthy mandatory minimum prison sentence.
Last week, the Government Accountability Office raised concerns that the fentanyl ban could result in people getting long sentences for compounds that are not even harmful or contain trace amounts of fentanyl-related substances. The ban has also made it harder for researchers to study thousands of fentanyl-like compounds, including to make treatments and antidotes for people living with opioid addiction, according to public health groups.
President Biden’s Office of National Drug Control Policy said the administration will work to extend the ban for seven months. Biden likely wants to avoid attacks from conservatives claiming he is “legalizing” a drug that has been so heavily demonized in the media, although allowing the Schedule 1 ban to expire is not really legislation.
Over a hundred justice and public health groups last week urged the White House to let the listing – which enhanced criminal penalties for people involved with the analogS – expire. Instead, the coalition asked Biden to embrace a public health and harm reduction approach to fentanyl and other opioids, rather than repeating past mistakes of the war on drugs.
“The Biden administration and leaders of Congress are faced with their first major test of criminal justice reform… if they choose to extend this Trump-era policy, it will increase mass incarceration and the over-policing and incarceration of people of color,” said Hilary Shelton, a policy director at the NAACP, during a call with reporters on Monday.
Truthout, Biden Poised to Break a Promise on Mandatory Minimum Sentencing (April 13, 2021)
The Intercept, Biden Looks to Extend Trump’s Bolstered Mandatory Minimum Drug Sentencing (April 12, 2021)
– Thomas L. Root