Ashcroft Orders Tally Of Lighter Sentences

[The Sushi Bandit]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25892-2003Aug6.html


Critics Say He Wants 'Blacklist' of Judges

[JoFerret]

1. He's the real Terminator

.

[LEFTofLEFT]

2. Does he mean for white collar crimes also.

NOT a chance.

[shanti]

3. MODS - duplicate post

n/t

[noonwitch]

4. He needs to look at plea-bargaining

Frequently in busy courts, a violent case will be plea-bargained to a slightly lesser charge, that has a lighter sentence than the initial charge. This is a prosecution issue, not a judicial one.

My guess is that he will be targeting drug offenders. Judges do not like the mandatory sentencing guidlines in these offenses. They want the ability to sentence the ringleaders to more time than the guy who gets caught holding it. The current guidelines call for it all to be treated the same. We had a case in Detroit where this guy brought drugs in through the airport, his grandmother picked him up not knowing he was in possession of somewhere like a kilo of cocaine, and she got life, too. There was another where a guy set up a deal between a supplier and an undercover cop (who smoked weed and did drugs with the 18 year old defendant)and he got life, even though he never even handled the drugs (cocaine). He did win a lighter sentence on appeal, but it took about ten years for him and every penny his mother had to do it. In Ashcroft's world, these are the dangerous people who need to be locked up for life at taxpayer's expense. I wonder what kind of deal Ken Lay will get?

[tom_paine]

7. Of course he's targeting "drug offenders"

The War on Drugs will be the lying wedge in which the Busheviks begin rounding up dissidents.

And so, the Busheviks need Nazi judges combined with the rest who will be scared to buck the Busheviks.

These Busheviks sure to telegraph their punches, from a Totalitarianism point of view.

They are just getting ready to turn the Empire into a Soviet-style Jail.

Move on. Nothing to see here.

[damnraddem]

5. I wouldn't assume that it was a blacklist --

he could have intentions that were even worse.

[hang a left]

12. What crossed my mind

was the privatization of the prison system, and looking into how much extra business they could churn up

[headlouse]

6. racist/classist agenda to fill up the jails

mandatory minimum sentences:
- increase the power of the procccutor
- which in turn increases the power of the Attorney General
- it also makes snitching profitable
- which in turn allows the big dealers (often white) to get off easy
- all this mostly targets minorities and the poor
- which gets minorioties/poor off the voter roles
- longer stays increases the profitablity of prison (slave) labor

spending no money on rehabilitation:
- guarentees that they return quicky to the prison system
- creates a never ending fear of crime which matchs the repug tough law & order platform

[tom_paine]

8. Every non-violent offender in jail = 1 less potential anti-Bushevik vote

And a Subclass of Informers is a hallmark of ANY Totalitarian Society.

As Imperial Amerika continues to be born and the last vestiges of the Old Republic swept away, this is almost inevitable, from a historic point of view.

[SoCalDem]

9. Makin' a list and checking it FIFTY times..

It's the Freakishly religious Santa Claus..

Yep.. the repubes are gonna identify those judges, and turn the dogs loos on them.. They'll start checking ahrd drives for porn, start checking tax records, real estste records, and lots of other stuff for "compromising information" and then whammo..judges start "retiring" and more opening appear magically , just sitting there waiting to be filled by the FUNDY Judge Squad..:)

Ashkkkroft,
In your heart you know he's right...



right up there with Hitler

[realFedUp]

10. The Congress needs to terminate Ashcroft's powers

!

[Kool Kitty]

11. This guy is one of the main reasons,

if not the best reason, for a new regime in 2004. He is truly dangerous and frightening. :scared: And Gore just said that they should reign in Ashcroft. And Rumsfeld.