Sessions' New Crackdown On Drugs Rewards Private Prisons And Suppresses Voting Rights

Attorney General Jeff Sessions decision to today to reverse the Obama-era policies that gave federal prosecutors broad discretion in how they prosecuted drug offenses that carried mandatory minimum sentences accomplishes two goals for the Republican party. The decision means that prosecutors will be forced to push for the maximum sentence they believe they can reasonably achieve in a case. And, despite Sessions’ claim that this frees prosecutors from being “micromanaged from Washington”, it actually means the opposite, that prosecutors will now have to get permission from the senior US Attorney or from the DOJ itself in Washington in writing if they want try a case  not following these guidelines.

The first goal this reversal today accomplishes is to reward the private prison lobby. Sessions has already reversed the Obama rule on not using private prisons for federal inmates. As you might guess, private prisons in general have much more dangerous conditions than government-run ones. The incidence of corruption and abuse by guards is higher and the quality of those guards is lower. Although not a federal prison, the stories from the Walnut Grove Correctional Facility in Mississippi provide an insight into just how brutal private prisons can be.

In addition, these new policies are yet another from of voter suppression of young minorities. They are the ones most likely to be caught up in these expanded prosecutorial power because they are less likely to be able to afford competent counsel and federal drug enforcement is more likely to focus on their communities. Felony convictions can cause loss of voting rights in many states. Before Terry McAuliffe pardoned thousands of felons who had served their time in Virginia, an estimated 20% of the African American population and 7% of the electorate overall had lost their voting rights due to felony convictions.

In summary, this is a typical Republican policy. It has no basis in science or experience. These maximum sentences have been shown to neither reduce the availability of drugs nor have any significant impact on the crime rate, which is near all-time lows as it is. It does, however, reward a powerful, moneyed interest that has given nearly one-quarter of a million dollars to the Trump inauguration fund. And at the same time, it increases Republican efforts at subverting our democracy by suppressing minority voters. It’s a perfect GOP policy.