Congressmen Raúl Labrador and Bobby Scott have introduced a House companion to the Smarter Sentencing Act, legislation introduced in the Senate earlier this year, which would reduce overly harsh penalties for drug offenses, allow judges greater flexibility in sentencing, and extend the more equitable crack cocaine provisions of the Fair Sentencing Act retroactively to individuals serving prison terms under the now discredited 100-to-1 sentencing disparity.
We strongly support the Smarter Sentencing Act, which recognizes what practitioners, advocates, and scholars have long understood: that ever increasing criminal penalties are not an effective way to keep Americans safe. You can read a statement by Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, in support of this legislation by clicking here.