Attorney general decries a lenience in sentencing
WASHINGTON -- Too many criminals are getting light sentences because of a Supreme Court decision earlier this year, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said yesterday. He urged Congress to approve new punishment guidelines to make sure federal judges can't be too lenient.
Gonzales said there is evidence of a growing disparity in jail terms since the court ruled earlier this year that judges do not have to follow sentencing guidelines that have been in place for nearly two decades. Speaking to a conference of the National Center for Victims of Crime, he also said judges should retain their discretion in imposing harsher prison terms than set out in sentencing guidelines.
Sentencing guidelines for federal prisoners have been in place for nearly two decades. But the Supreme Court in January said making the guidelines mandatory violated a defendant's Sixth Amendment right to a jury trial because they call for judges to make factual decisions that could add to prison time, such as the amount of drugs involved in a crime. 