Passage of the Fair Sentencing Act greatly reduced prison sentences for thousands of drug users convicted after 2010. Those arrested for similar drug offenses prior to 2010 are serving lengthy and unjust sentences. President Obama should commute the sentences of prisoners convicted of comparable offenses prior to the enactment of the FSA. (See NY Times, 10/1/15, "Mr. Obama and the Power of Mercy")
Why is this important?
The current rate of incarceration in the US dwarfs that of any country at any time in the world's history. The vast majority of our prisoners were convicted of victimless crimes, affecting only the users themselves. The costs of the current system to prisoners and taxpayers are unjust and unsustainable.
