Louis J. Freeh
The News Journal
June 16. 2008

Thousands of civic-minded Delawareans, including some in every one of Delaware's legislative districts, are working to advance the cause of progressive social justice and criminal justice via passage of House Bill 71 in the state Senate.

I'm asking -- on behalf of those Delawareans -- that the Senate leadership agree to bring H.B. 71 for a full Senate hearing and vote before June 30.

This legislation would go a long way toward bringing greater fairness to Delaware's criminal justice system, restoring judicial discretion in sentencing, and expanding available correctional options in a way that would reduce the cost of corrections, and hopefully head off the need to build Delaware's next new prison.

To date, opponents have successfully used parliamentary process to thwart the will of thousands of people, as well as the majority of the Delaware House of Representatives, which passed the bill last year.

To the extent that H.B.71 principally involves prosecution and sentencing treatment of crimes involving drug use, let me agree to several concerns raised by opponents:

• Drug dealing indeed is a scourge on our community, and it should be ended;
• Drug dealers should not be on our streets, and they should be punished for their crimes.
• Our state can and should lead the way in an enlightened approach to managing this issue.

I suspect we'd disagree with opponents on the unintended consequences of mandatory minimums, which H.B. 71 would eliminate for drug crimes. Including the following:

• By choosing mandatory minimums, Delaware's General Assembly has led the shift in the allocation of important resources of focus and money away from vital public priorities, like education and transportation, sending needed funds instead to build and operate more prisons. It is spending our children's inheritance and at the same time mortgaging their futures.

• Delaware has much to be proud of in its law enforcement and corrections system, but prisons are just dangerously ineffective for rehabilitation of many of the minor drug use crimes. Prisons take in casual drug users and return to society ex-convicts who too often have been schooled by their fellow inmates to become hardened criminals.

How do we manage the criminal justice system on this issue? Who holds the discretion to punish people? To what extent is it okay to use the law to compel the delivery of information -- sometimes, if not often, inaccurately -- from one person to convict another?

Mandatory minimum sentencing indicates that we do not have confidence in the fairness of our judges and prosecutors. However, Delaware has outstanding judges and prosecutors, starting with Attorney General Beau Biden.

• Judicial quality, supported by judicial discretion. We have a judiciary of which each of us are proud, and is the envy of the nation. But we've embarrassed that judiciary with mandatory minimums. We've undermined how they do their jobs, which ultimately undermines their -- and Delaware's -- reputation nationally.

• Fairness. How we treat each other in Delaware is an important part of our culture. Again, . Another reason Delaware is the envy of our neighbors is the civility of how we treat each other. With the repeal of mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws, our judiciary again would be able to fully consider all the aggravating and mitigating circumstances of each case.

With the restoration of such discretion, judges will be equipped to identify drug dealers and imprison them; to recognize those in need of less-costly alternatives like drug treatment and arrange treatment for them; and to handle all offenders as unique individuals and sentence them appropriately.

Delaware's sentencing guidelines and Truth-In-Sentencing Law would remain in force to guide judges.

Experience has shown we cannot arrest our way out of America's drug problem. If we could, it would have been solved long ago.

As someone whose life and career is rooted in law enforcement, I have the greatest respect for Delaware's finest -- our law enforcement officers and emergency responder -- and the critical role that the officers play in our criminal justice system.

I call upon the Delaware Senate to at least allow the views of many Delaware citizens to be heard by bringing to the floor H.B. 71 for consideration, discussion, debate and a vote. Each Delaware senator should have the opportunity to exercise her or his judgment.