RESEARCH ADVOCACY POLICY OUTREACH Sentencing Times A publication of The Sentencing Project, Washington, D.C. Fall 2011 ADVOCACY INSIDE Executive Director’s U.S. Sentencing Commission Message: “It Was 25 Years Ago Today”.... ....... .2 Extends Reform Building Momentum The campaign to address the unfair for Juvenile Justic e ........3 sentences for federal crack cocaine offenses did not end with President Barack Obama’s Public Educatio n ..... .... ...3 signing of the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. The Sentencing Project had to work with its In the New s ...... ...............4 allies to ensure that implementation of the law – always key – benefited as many people Staff Profile s ......... ...........5 as possible. The result: On June 30, the U.S. Sentencing Media............................... .6 Commission voted unanimously to apply the amended crack cocaine sentencing guidelines Donor Profil e....... .............7 of the new law to 12,000 people currently incarcerated for a federal crack cocaine offense. Reports Document Prison The decision was critical because it allowed Closings and Sentencing retroactive application of the law to those Reform s.......... ................. ..7 sentenced prior to its enactment, reducing the average sentence from 13 to 10 years. The Commission’s decision resulted from advocacy by The Sentencing Project and others in the reform community as well as tens of thousands of family members and citizens Judge Patti B. Saris, chair of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, concerned about fair implementation of the during June hearing that extended reductions of the Fair U.S. Sentencing Commission continued on page 3 Sentencing Act of 2010 to crack cocaine offenders in prison. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite OUTREACH Ministering Justice Can taking just one course spur someone to action? For the 13 seminary students from eight states who took Payne Theological Seminary’s Race, Crime and Justice course, taught in conjunction with The Sentencing Project’s Marc Mauer and Terry Nixon, the answer was a resounding “yes.” The three-day course, which took place in April, was the brain-child of The Reverend Dr. Leah Gaskin Fitchue, the first woman president of Payne Theological Seminary, a 166 year- old institution sponsored by the African Methodist Episcopal Church (AME). Race, Crime and Justice participants: From left, Craig Wright. Merritt Graves. Lyvette Ministering Justice continued on page 4 Johnson. Tonya Anderson. Andra Henning. Haywood Davidson. Sylvia Roberts. Rodney Smith. Stefon McBride. Pamela Dickey. Marc Mauer. Dr. Leah Gaskin Fitchue. LaWanda Felton. Samuel Tolbert Jr . Kenneth Davis. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S MESSAGE “It Was 25 Years Ago Today” Yes, a quarter century ago The Sentencing the shockingly high rate of criminal justice Project came into being. On that day in 1986, supervision of young African American about 800,000 Americans were behind bars The Sentencing Project males, nearly 1 in 3 on any given day. 1705 DeSales St. NW in prison or jail. And while that represented a • In 1991, the first of the “Americans Behind 8th floor significant increase over the previous decade, Washington, DC 20036 Bars” series found that the United States little did we realize that an incarceration had become the world leader in its rate of explosion was about to happen. 202-628-0871 telephone incarceration. 202-628-1091 fax Looking back on that year we can now see [email protected] how the death of basketball star Len Bias and • In 1992, we launched the Campaign for www.sentencingproject.org political grandstanding contributed to “tough an Effective Crime Policy, a coalition that on crime” drug laws in 1986, including the gained the support of over 1,000 criminal justice leaders in its “Call for a Rational STAFF notorious crack/powder cocaine sentencing disparity. We can also recall how Debate on Crime and Punishment.” Marc Mauer • In 1997 and 1998, our two Executive Director the ensuing political developments Karen DeWitt led almost every state to make it reports on felony disenfran- Communications Manager easier to try young people as adults, chisement helped to launch a Kara Gotsch as well as to sentence record national movement that has Director of Advocacy numbers of juveniles to life resulted in reform policies Marc Levin being enacted in 23 states. Development Director without parole sentences. Much has changed today. As is • Throughout the past decade, Cody Mason Program Associate now quite apparent, the political our policy reports on “the war Serawit Mekonnen climate on issues of crime and on marijuana,” the scale of life Database Manager punishment has been shifting in imprisonment, the racial Ashley Nellis recent years – yes, slowly – in a dynamics of the war on drugs, Research Analyst more rational and compassionate state sentencing reforms, and Terry Nixon other issues have provided both Operations Director direction. In little more than a decade the reentry movement has Marc Mauer, Executive Director policymakers and advo cates Nicole Porter with the tools and analysis they need to State Advocacy Coordinator taken hold, with a range of programming and research projects underway throughout the promote reform. country. Similarly, restorative justice and justice While we are proud of our contributions BOARD OF DIRECTORS reinvestment projects are exploring new ways to the criminal justice reform movement, The Honorable of handling conflict and consequences. And we cannot overlook the fundamental change Renee Cardwell-Hughes (President) a number of states have achieved substantial of the past 25 years. That is, unfortunately, reductions in the numbers of adults and Veronica Coleman-Davis that the incarcerated population in the juveniles housed behind bars. Robert Crane United States has nearly tripled during I’d like to think that the work of The this period, having reached a record 2.3 Robert Creamer Sentencing Project over a quarter century million people in prison and jail. That Robert D. Crutchfield has helped to pave the way for this evolving figure does not suggest that the accomplish - Angela J. Davis political climate. We’ve tried to do this through ments of The Sentencing Project and many Fred Epstein research exploring the consequences of mass others have not been significant or important Randolph N. Stone incarceration, along with targeted advocacy to individual lives. But it remains as a designed to promote more effective and Robert L. Weiss poignant reminder that we still have a long compassionate criminal justice responses. way to go. Marsha Weissman A few highlights of this work include: Our reform work over the years has been • In 1989, we sponsored the first of a series aided by the partnerships and insights we’ve Interns of National Conferences on Sentencing gained from a range of scholars, criminal Benjamin Bronstein Advocacy, bringing together advocates justice leaders, policy advocates, and many others. While these are challenging times, we Kate Epstein working to promote sentencing alterna- value these relationships and remain optimistic tives in “prison-bound” cases. Katie Zafft about the prospects for change. We have no • In 1990, and then 1995, we documented choice but to do so. © 2011 The Sentencing Project 2 Sentencing Times Fall 2011 U.S. Sentencing Commission continued from page 1 law. During the process, The Sentencing Project Holder issued a new directive allowing Public Education met with staff from the U.S. Sentencing “pipeline” cases to benefit from the reduced The Sentencing Project Commission, Department of Justice and the sentencing structure. has made presentations White House, urging a fair application of Much progress has been made this year in to the following organiza - the law and the retroactive application of the advancing fairness in federal crack cocaine tions and institutions amended sentencing guidelines. The Sentencing sentencing, providing relief to thousands of in 2011 : Project also submitted comments to the U.S. people facing excessive penalties. The work Sentencing Commission over the last year continues, however, and The Sentencing Speaking Engagements and testified at two Commission hearings on Project is helping lead the fight to expand upon American Society of Criminology the subject. the success of the Fair Sentencing Act. This College and Community Following the Commission’s decision on year, The Sentencing Project worked with allies Fellowship retroactivity, Attorney General Eric Holder to incorporate an important expansion of Centerforce revised a Justice Department directive to federal federal good time credits within legislation Drug Policy Alliance prosecutors that had opposed applying the law to reauthorize the Second Chance Act. The Florida Rights Restoration to defendants whose crimes were committed Sentencing Project regularly meets with Coalition prior to the law being changed. After numerous staff on Capitol Hill to promote cost saving Georgetown University rulings against the Justice Department’s position measures that increase sentencing fairness at Law School Hunger Fellows and with several appellate court cases pending, the federal level. Conference as well as pressure from the reform community, International Drug Policy Consortium, London POLICY Maryland DMC Conference Maryland Child Service Building Momentum Systems Mental Health in Corrections Conference for Juvenile Justice National Association of Counties An unfortunate reality is that many in National Association of America’s adult jails and prisons have Criminal