John Kiriakou | "Hang 'Em High" Henry Hudson to Oversee Sentencing Guidelines?

Regardless of the chart employed, the US has the WORLD'S HIGHEST RATE OF INCARCERATION...Taxpayers are paying for it and it doesn't solve anything.

Government decisions needs to be FACT BASED.
If we know it doesn't work, why continue to do it? ....except for Greedy FOR PROFIT PRISON CORPORATIONS continue to profit from FAILED POLICY.

26 August 17

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FOCUS: John Kiriakou | "Hang 'Em High" Henry Hudson to Oversee Sentencing Guidelines? 
 
John Kiriakou, Reader Supported News 
Kiriakou writes: "Just when you thought Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III couldn't get any worse, he did. Sessions last week urged the White House to nominate a federal judge and former 'tough on crime' prosecutor nicknamed (I'm not kidding) 'Hang 'Em High' Henry Hudson to an independent, bipartisan panel that issues sentencing guidelines for federal crimes." 
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ust when you thought Attorney General Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III couldn’t get any worse, he did. Sessions last week urged the White House to nominate a federal judge and former “tough on crime” prosecutor nicknamed (I’m not kidding) “Hang ’Em High” Henry Hudson to an independent, bipartisan panel that issues sentencing guidelines for federal crimes. Sessions’s recommendation is for one of three openings on the U.S. Sentencing Commission, which, during the Obama administration, recommended reductions in mandatory minimum sentences, especially for drug offenses, and which implemented an across-the-board reduction in sentences for nonviolent drug offenders.

More specifically, Sessions has ordered the Justice Department to urge the Commission to toughen sentences, especially for violent criminals, drug offenders, undocumented immigrant smugglers, and “career criminals.” We probably can all agree that sentences should be tough for those people using violence in the commission of a crime or for those involved in human trafficking. But reinstating harsh mandatory minimums for nonviolent and/or first-time drug offenders is a mistake.

The problems with enhancing sentences for drug offenders and so-called career criminals are twofold. First, tough mandatory minimums simply don’t work to reduce the crime rate. That’s a proven fact. What does work, though, is rehabilitation and education, two things that are not found in the federal prison system. When a person does ten or twenty years (or longer) for a nonviolent drug offense, doesn’t learn a skill in prison, or even how to read, and then returns home at the end of his sentence, what does Sessions think he’ll do? He’ll sell drugs, of course. It’s the only thing he knows how to do. And in the meantime, the prisons are already full to bursting. The Bureau of Prisons accounts for a quarter of the Justice Department’s entire budget. And its only accomplishment is to keep people in chains.

Second, what exactly is a “career criminal?” According to the Justice Department, it’s any person with at least three arrests. It doesn’t matter what those arrests are for, though. Do you have a DUI or trespassing charge from college? Strike one. Have you been arrested for protesting at a federal facility? Strike two. Any other federal arrest is strike three. Not only are you elevated on the federal sentencing chart, giving you a longer sentence, you face a tougher mandatory minimum, and your sentencing judge is not permitted any leeway in that sentence. You’re treated the same way as somebody whose three crimes were murder, rape, and armed robbery. And remember, there’s no such thing as federal parole.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission has seven members, but three of those slots are vacant; two more become vacant on October 31. By law, three of the members must be federal judges and no more than four can be members of the same political party. It’s easy to get around that last proviso by simply naming a conservative Democrat or independent to the panel. The bottom line, though, is clear: Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions will control the Sentencing Commission in the next two months.

The only hope for holding off reimposition of the tough mandatory minimums that were lifted or eased during the Obama administration is through Congressional action. But don’t hold your breath. Neither Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) nor House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) has been able or willing to push an already-popular bipartisan sentencing bill to his respective floor for a vote. And even if they did, Donald Trump would veto it.

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/277-75/45435-focus-qhang-em-highq-henry-hudson-to-oversee-sentencing-guidelines

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MASSterList: New pot bill on Monday | Courthouse fixtures | Name dropping

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By Jay Fitzgerald and Keith Regan 06/16/2017 New pot bill on Monday | Courthouse fixtures | Name dropping

Happening Today

Markey on ObamaCare repeal U.S. Sen. Ed Markey holds a press conference to discuss how Massachusetts hospitals could be impacted if the Affordable Care Act is repealed, Cambridge Hospital, 1439 Cambridge St., Cambridge, 10:30 a.m.

DeLeo at Perkins commencement House Speaker Robert DeLeo gives the commencement address at Perkins School for the Blind, Dwight Hall, Howe Building, 175 N. Beacon St., Watertown, 11 a.m.

Interior Secretary in Boston U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke holds a listening session and roundtable with local fishermen about the area of sea that President Barack Obama designated a marine monument, Legal Seafood Harborside, 270 Northern Ave, Boston, 11 a.m.

Sail Boston commences Sail Boston 2017 begins with the Blessing of the Sails and a brief speaking program, Boston Harbor Hotel, rotunda, 70 Rowes Wharf, Boston, 12 p.m.

Baker in D.C. Gov. Charlie Baker is in the nation’s capital for the day to discuss health-care reforms and opioid crisis issues.

Sierra Club rally Massachusetts Sierra Club hosts a rally alongside the Environmental League of Massachusetts to urge U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke to support public lands and national monuments, State House Steps, 1 p.m.

Today's News

Committee to roll out new pot bill Monday – 28 percent tax stays After this week’s embarrassing House retreat on marijuana-legalization legislation, the Marijuana Policy Committee on Monday plans to unveil a re-written bill that fixes a major language snafu and is expected to keep the proposed tax rate at 28 percent, SHNS’s Colin Young is reporting. Debate on the redrafted bill is expected in the House on Wednesday. The new bill will not be drastically different from the bill the committee released earlier this week, said Rep. Mark Cusack, whose staff has been working around the clock to re-write the legislation, reports Young. "With a bill of this magnitude and an issue of this import, it deserves 100 percent focus and all of our energy so we can get this right,” he said. Meanwhile, the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing has apparently gotten involved in leadership-backed legislation related to marijuana regulation, reports Young. SHNS (pay wall)

House pot delay may leave lawmakers with three options If the House doesn’t act soon on marijuana legislation, the Globe’s Joshua Miller reports that lawmakers may be left with few options (three, to be precise) on the marijuana-regulation front. State Rep. Mark Cusack has told SHNS (see post above) that lawmakers are not looking at a scaled-back bill and still hope to unveil an “omnibus piece of legislation” on Monday. But a scaled-back bill -- one of the options Miller mentions in his Globe story -- still seems possible, if not probable, to us. Boston Globe

Baker off to D.C. to discuss health care and opioid-abuse issues Gov. Charlie Baker is making a quick visit to Washington today to lobby Congress on health-care reform and to discuss opioid-abuse matters, reports SHNS’s Andy Metzger at the Greenfield Recorder. The governor flies back to Boston later today. Recorder

Healey joins other AGs in probe of opioid manufacturers Also on the opioid-abuse crisis: Massachusetts Attorney General is joining other states in investigating the sale and marketing practices of drug companies that manufacture opioid-based products, as part of a probe to determine if the firms have contributed to the opioid crisis, reports Max Stendahl at the BBJ. BBJ

And over here we’re going to put the Renoir painting … The media got a tour yesterday of the planned $22.6 million restoration of the Senate chamber at the State House. All kidding aside: Despite its surface splendor, the Senate chamber is a dump and desperately needs the restoration. State House News Service’s Colin Young has more. SHNS (pay wall)

‘LaRouchies go full Trump’ An apparent alliance has been formed between LaRouchies and Trump groupies. Makes sense. Adam Gaffin has the photographic proof. Universal Hub

Courthouse fixtures: ICE agents Defense lawyers and prosecutors are noticing a new courthouse fixture around Massachusetts: ICE agents lurking around corners to arrest illegal immigrants who show up for even minor criminal charges, reports the Globe’s Maria Cramer. Hmmm. That’s all we need: More bail jumpers. Someone should point this out to the feds. Boston Globe

The real reason DAs love minimum sentences: Leverage and power Many people now think mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses need to go. But there’s one group tenaciously clinging to minimum sentences: District attorneys, writes Margaret Monsell, Rahsaan Hall and Leslie Walker at CommonWealth. Why? Minimum sentences give DAs the leverage – and power – to coerce defendants to plea bargain, they say. CommonWealth

Threat of taking family-leave to the ballot seems to be working The Globe’s Shirley Leung says lawmakers need to get to work on hammering out a family-leave compromise – or the worst-case scenario of voters deciding the issue will occur. Some lawmakers are definitely feeling the ballot-question heat, she writes. Fyi: The Globe’s Katie Johnson takes a look at the House and Senate family-leave bills now before lawmakers. Boston Globe

Capuano and McGovern: We don’t need extra security Following this week’s Alexandria shooting, U.S. Reps. Michael Capuano and Jim McGovern say they don’t need extra security –nor do they want to live in a bubble, reports the Herald’s Chris Villani and Kimberly Atkins. Boston Herald

Name dropping: Obama, Yellen for Harvard president? Harvard President Drew Faust’s announcement that she’ll be stepping down as president of the university has ushered in our favorite type of no-facts-needed journalistic speculation: Name dropping. So let the name dropping begin, starting with Barak Obama and Janet Yellen as potential candidates as the next president at Harvard. The Globe’s Deirdre Fenandes and Laura Krantz have more names. Our diabolical name-dropping suggestion: Hillary Clinton. A lot of Dems want her out of the way in 2020 and so ... why not? Boston Globe

Photographic reminder: The T could use some TLC From the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism comes an eye-opening look at the state of the T: BINJ commissioned photographer Derek Koyoumijian to spend a month snapping shots of rusting steel, decaying brick and crumbling concrete at MBTA facilities. Some may seem familiar to regular T riders but taken together, they paint an effective picture of a system in need of some serious TLC.  BINJ

Good-time, Charlie All yours for $15,000: “Cigar rolling. Wine tasting. Clambake. Heavy apps. And facetime with the governor, lieutenant governor, and their top political aides at a seaside Osterville estate valued around $7 million.” The Globe’s Jim O’Sullivan has more on Gov. Charlie Baker’s planned summer-themed fundraiser next month. Boston Globe

The latest gubernatorial-election issue: UMass tuition hikes Democratic gubernatorial candidate Setti Warren is blasting talk of yet another tuition hike at the University of Massachusetts, saying in a statement it’s “unconscionable” that Beacon Hill lawmakers aren’t seriously considering raising new revenues to pay for important state services such as higher-education. Meanwhile, New Boston Postreports that emotions were high but the audience small at a recent hearing on in-state tuition rates for immigrants.

Report: FTC has ‘serious competition concerns’ over DraftKings-FanDuel merger We were wondering if this might be the case. From Kelly O’Brien at the BBJ: “Controversial Boston startup DraftKings Inc. appears to be facing resistance from government officials once again, this time for its proposed merger with its New York rival, FanDuel Inc. The merger is garnering ‘serious competition concerns’ among staff at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, Recode reported, citing three people familiar with the agency's review.” BBJ

Most sought after Airbnb rentals in Boston: The Short List As lawmakers mull new taxes and regulations on home rental companies like Airbnb, the BBJ has obtained a list of the most sought after Airbnb abodes in Boston, with the No. 1 spot being in the South End. You’ll never guess where No. 2 is located (or at least it didn’t occur to us). Btw: The prices are surprisingly reasonable, for those below the top rental. BBJ

Sunday public affairs TV Keller at Large, 8:30 p.m., WBZ-TV Channel 4. This week’s guest: Gov. Charlie Baker, who talks about the House marijuana bill, the ‘millionaire’s tax,’ the state’s role in picking life-science winners, in the first of a two-part interview with the governor, with Part 2 appearing next week. This is New England, 9:30 a.m. NBC Boston Channel 10. With host Latoyia Edwards, this week’s topics: Father’s Day, Piers Park Sailing Center, Kindness Rocks Project. This Week in Business, NECN, 10 a.m. Shirley Leung of the Boston Globe and Jim Rooney of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce on leadership changes at Uber, GE and Harvard, the fed interest rate hike, the state’s lowered bond rating and more. CEO Corner, NECN, 10:30 a.m. ZipCar chief executive Tracey Zen talks about the booming business of car-sharing and how they are expanding their international footprint. On the Record, 11 a.m., WCVB-TV Channel 5. This week’s guest: U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, who speaks with anchor Ed Harding and co-anchor Janet Wu. CityLine, 12 p.m. WCVB-TV Channel 5. With host Karen Holmes Ward, this week’s focus: Educating and mentoring Boston’s black and Latino youth. DC Dialogue, NECN, 1 p.m. Dr. David Torchiana, chief executive of Partners HealthCare, discusses the future of health care in the US and GOP analyst Pat Griffin discusses presidential politics and other topics.

Today's Headlines Metro The biggest job in education just opened up, so who’s in the running? - Boston Globe Report: City lags in top job postings for Latinos - Boston Herald Dogs definitely allowed: The unique history of an Esplanade fountain - WBUR Massachusetts Gov. Baker outlines budget gap, spending issues - Telegram & Gazette Beverly to consider plastic bag ban - Salem News MBTA to launch $3 million ‘commuter rail vision’ study - Patriot Ledger A street fight in Lexington pits preservation against accessibility - WGBH Feds reportedly have ‘serious’ conners about DraftKings, FanDuel merger - Boston Business Journal Even with job growth, Mass. unemployment rate rises past 4 percent - Boston Business Journal Worcester to evict Union Station nightclub - Worcester Business Journal Nation Special counsel is investigating Jared Kushner’s business dealings - Washington Post Senators from both parties criticize secrecy on health bill - New York Times White House aides fret over Trump’s Russia probe obsession - Politico

To view more events or post an event listing on Beacon Hill Town Square, please visitevents.massterlist.com. Beacon Hill Town Square