Attorney General Eric Holder has taken a huge step in eliminating America's "war on drugs," an ineffective effort that has cost taxpayers $1 trillion and done nothing to curb the supply and demand for drugs in U.S.
On Monday, Holder announced that the Justice Department will no longer pursue mandatory minimum sentences for certain low-level, nonviolent drug offenders, noting that the nation is "coldly efficient in jailing criminals," but that it "cannot prosecute or incarcerate" its way to becoming safer.
"Too many Americans go to too many prisons for far too long, and for no truly good law enforcement reason," he added while addressing the American Bar Association's House of Delegates in San Francisco, CNN reported.
Holder also questioned some assumptions about the criminal justice system's approach to the "war on drugs," noting that after 40 years, it has helped make America the world's largest incarcerator by disproportionally imprisoning the working class and people of color for small amounts of drugs.
Instead, Holder said his "new approach" will be to essentially offer non-violent drug offenders treatment instead of prison. The centerpiece of his plan is to scale back prosecution for certain drug offenders, meaning those with no ties to large-scale organizations, gangs or cartels. He said such low-level offenders would no longer be charged with offenses that "impose draconian mandatory minimum sentences."
Holder said that he and President Barack Obama agreed to try to "strike a balance" that clears the way for "pragmatic" and "commonsense" solutions to enhance public safety and the "public good."
Now, these offenders "will be charged with offenses for which the accompanying sentences are better suited to their individual conduct, rather than excessive prison terms more appropriate for violent criminals or drug kingpins," said Holder.
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