U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions has sent a memo to all federal prosecutors instructing them to pursue the "most serious, readily provable offense" for their cases.
The "Sessions memo", which he sent Thursday night, replaces the so-called "Holder memo", which was issued in 2013 under President Obama's attorney general, Eric Holder.
The Justice Department on Friday released a memo from Sessions ordering federal prosecutors to pursue the highest charges possible, including those that carry mandatory minimum sentences, for drug offenders. He says the drug epidemic should be treated as a health crisis, not a "lock 'em up and throw away the key" problem.
Several law enforcement leaders said the new policy would not mitigate the nation's growing opioid epidemic, which Trump has pledged to make a top priority.
The announcement is an unmistakable undoing of Obama administration criminal justice policies that aimed to ease overcrowding in federal prisons and contributed to a national rethinking of how drug criminals were prosecuted and sentenced.
Exceptions for what can be charged will only be allowed with approval from a USA attorney, an assistant US attorney general or a designated supervisor. Earlier this year, Sessions reversed a directive from the previous deputy attorney general Sally Yates that would stop the use of private prisons for holding federal prisoners.
Sessions noted that "there will be circumstances in which good judgment would lead a prosecutor to conclude that a strict application" of the policy is not warranted, but that any exceptions must first be approved by a USA attorney, assistant attorney general, or a designated supervisor. The change by Sessions doesn't come as a surprise as he came to office promising to be tough on crime.
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In his swearing in, Attorney General Sessions talked about a "dangerous permanent trend" of increasing crime.
"Mandatory minimum sentences have unfairly and disproportionately incarcerated too many minorities for too long", Senator Rand Paul said.
Prosecutors who wish to not pursue the most serious charges possible would have to get approval from a United States attorney or assistant attorney general. However, the federal prison population is expected to grow under Sessions' watch, considering both his battle against drug offenses and the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. The implementation of Sessions's memo will be overseen by Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein, who has come under criticism in recent days for the firing of former Federal Bureau of Investigation director James B. Comey.
"This policy fully utilizes the tools Congress has given us", the attorney general's memo says. "It is dumb on crime", The Washington Times reported.
Holder directed prosecutors - when considering nonviolent defendants with insignificant criminal histories and no connections to criminal organizations - to omit details about drug quantities from charging documents so as not to lead to automatically harsh penalties.
"Drug business is big criminal business". He wrote, "Prosecutors must disclose to the sentencing court all facts that impact the sentencing guidelines or mandatory-minimum sentences, and should in all cases seek a reasonable sentence under the factors".
But despite the public outcry, Sessions made it clear in the memo that he intends for the changes to be implemented immediately.
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