This archive report was first published on 2 August 2019.
Prosecutors Must Lead the Way in Cutting Down Excessive Sentences ¶
As the country grapples with the crisis of mass incarceration, prosecutors have a crucial role to play in reducing excessive sentences. For decades, they have been a major driver of the sentencing explosion, pushing for maximum sentences and resisting appeals for leniency in the courtroom, and lobbying for longer sentences and opposing reform efforts in statehouses.
However, there are signs of progress. In Seattle, District Attorney Dan Satterberg has supported clemency applications for people sentenced under Washington State's harsh three-strikes law. In Georgia, a group of district attorneys has agreed to re-evaluate drug sentences imposed during the crack epidemic and has already helped some people go home. And in California, prosecutors supported recent legislation that allows them to form sentence review units.
Philadelphia's District Attorney, Larry Krasner, intends to open a sentence review unit, saying, “Sometimes extreme sentences reflect unscientific beliefs; sometimes they reflect racism; and sometimes they reflect judges who punish you 10 times harder if you went to trial.” He believes that there are many people in jail who don't need to stay there.
While sentence review remains ad hoc, demands from citizens and leaders can help these local efforts grow into a national movement. Cutting down excessive sentences will not solve the crisis of mass incarceration on its own, but failing to act will ensure that the wounds caused by those sentences never heal.
