Dear Friend,
The U.S. Sentencing Commission (Commission) is asking the public to comment on its priorities for amending the federal sentencing guidelines next year. We need your voice!
Submit your comments today by visiting the following site and clicking on "Submission Portal": https://www.ussc.gov/policymaking/public-comment
I want to highlight one proposed priority in particular. It lines up nicely with our shared interest in prison oversight! The Commission proposes to consider the issue of reducing costs of incarceration and overcapacity of prisons. It then asks whether it should assess the degree to which certain practices of the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) are effective in meeting the purposes of sentencing as set forth in 18 U.S.C. § 3553(a)(2), which are:
- To provide just punishment;
- To afford adequate deterrence to criminal conduct;
- To protect the public from further crimes by the defendant; and
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To provide needed educational or vocational training, medical care, or other correctional treatment in the most effective manner.
You and your loved ones are the experts, friends. I know the Commission is eager to hear from you about BOP practices and how they do or don’t meet the purposes of sentencing. Please write to the Commission and tell them (1) that they should adopt this priority, and (2) explain, based on your own experience, why they should.
Comments are due on August 1. To submit yours, please visit the following site and click on "Submission Portal": https://www.ussc.gov/policymaking/public-comment
Thank you for participating in this important comment period.
Yours,
