WASHINGTON – 4/12/2014 - The U.S. Sentencing Commission voted on April 11 to reduce sentencing guidelines for certain people convicted of nonviolent drug offenses. The amendment would reduce the average sentence for drug traffickers by 11 months, by lowering the drug sentencing guidelines two levels. Attorney General Eric Holder endorsed the change during testimony before the commission last month.
"Our country is slowly but steadily reversing the damage done by the failed, racially biased war on drugs," ACLU Senior Legislative Counse Jesselyn McCurdy said. "The actions taken by the Sentencing Commission . . . are another positive move toward reducing unnecessarily long sentences that have led to bloated, overcrowded prisons. Our criminal justice system is smarter, fairer, and more humane than it was a year ago, and we need to make sure momentum continues in the right direction."
The amendment, along with several others that were passed, will go to Congress for its approval on May 1. Congress has six months to introduce and pass legislation to stop the proposed changes before they become law on November 1.
Source: American Civil Liberties Union
Ku Klux Klan: 150 Years of Racism, Hate and Violence
SUMMARY: The Ku Klux Klan is the oldest terrorist group in the United States. This secret society, created in 1865, has survived throughout the decades and has always managed to rise from its ashes. It has been making the news for over 150 years. 150 years of hatred, racism and horror . A cruel history whose demons still haunt America.
