2001: Year begins with commutations
While the quagmire of mandatory sentences continued, FAMM helped organize legal assistance for several dozen prisoners, all FAMM members, in applying for Presidential sentence commutations. President Clinton intervened in 2000 and 2001 to commute the sentences of 21 of those drug defendants serving mandated prison terms. The well-publicized stories of those prisoners, who were able to leave prison without completing their sentences of seven to 85 years, helped illustrate the egregious nature of mandatory sentencing laws. 34 In 2001 Rep. Maxine Waters reintroduced her bill - now the Major Drug Trafficking Prosecution Act of 2001 (H.R. 1978) - backed by 36 sponsors, all Democrats but it failed to move out of committee. A bill introduced by Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.) to make the safety valve provision from the 1994 crime bill retroactive also failed. It mirrored bills introduced by Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) in two previous Congressional sessions.
A step back
In 2001, the sentencing commission decided to increase penalties for ecstasy, also known as MDMA, to a level that is harsher than those for cocaine. The commission was responding to a directive from Congress in 2000 to raise ecstasy penalties. As a result of the commission's changes, someone caught with 800 ecstasy pills will receive a sentence of 63-78 months (a 300 percent increase) while 8,000 pills trigger a sentence of 121-135 months (a 200 percent increase). Although three medical researchers brought in by FAMM and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers testified that ecstasy is not as dangerous as cocaine, heroin or methamphetamine, the commission ignored that testimony. 35
States lead the way to change
Steep state budget cuts, escalating corrections costs, prison overcrowding and the growing movement for sentencing reform led Louisiana, Connecticut, Indiana and North Dakota to modify or repeal some harsh mandatory penalties. For example, Iowa now allows judges to decide whether to impose its mandatory five-year sentence for low-level drug crimes. 36 Indiana repealed a mandatory 20-year sentence for sales of three grams of cocaine.
In California, Proposition 36 became law July 1, 2001. The ballot initiative requires drug treatment, not harsh prison sentences for first- and second-time nonviolent drug offenders and prevents the second drug offense from being counted as a "strike" towards California's notorious "three-strikes" law, under certain circumstances.
Citizens oppose mandatory sentences
By mid-2001, a majority of Americans - 61 percent - opposed mandatory sentences that require an automatic sentence for nonviolent crimes, according to a poll commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). The poll reflected a strong dissatisfaction with the criminal justice system and a growing confidence in rehabilitation and alternative punishments for nonviolent offenders. While a majority believed that drug dealers should be sent to prison, far fewer believed that users (25 percent), minor possessors (19 percent) or buyers (27 percent) should always be locked up. The study found strong public support - 62 percent - for changing current laws so that fewer nonviolent offenses are punishable by prison. Some 81 percent favored mandatory education and some training, 76 percent favored compensation to victims, and 80 percent favored community service. 37 In late 2001, two Republican senators, Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) and Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), introduced a sentencing reform bill improving the crack cocaine penalties.