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VIVIAN HOUGHTON URGES
END TO MANDATORY MINIMUM SENTENCING
Green Party candidate for Attorney
General calls current system unjust to the poor and people of
color
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
APRIL 22, 2002
Contacts:
- Bob Bohm, Coordinator
Committee to Elect Vivian Houghton Attorney General
(302) 239-2572
rebsalerno@msn.com
- J. Roy Cannon
Committee to Elect Vivian Houghton Attorney General
302.738.9963
jcannon11@comcast.net
Wilmington - - Vivian Houghton,
Green Party candidate for the office of Delaware Attorney General,
today added her voice to those calling for the General Assembly to
pass HB 436. Designed to restore sentencing discretion to
judges in some drug cases and to encourage the use of substance
abuse treatment, education and job skills development in the
rehabilitation of inmates, the bill is expected to be voted on in
the House later this week.
Houghton, a Wilmington Attorney, points out
that the bill is endorsed by Stand Up for What's Right and Just,
the Delaware Alliance for Restorative Justice, the AFL-CIO, the
NAACP and a dozen other community forces. "The overwhelming
support for the bill demonstrates how Delawareans believe the
justice system should serve to restore communities, victims and
offenders. Due to mandatory minimum sentencing and the
criminalization of substance abuse, our prisons are grossly
over-crowded, understaffed and are ineffective in deterring
crime," said Houghton. "Instead of concentrating
millions of taxpayer dollars on putting minor, non-violent
offenders in jail, I would refocus the energy and resources of the
Attorney General's office in supporting proven programs of
rehabilitation, drug treatment, community policing, restorative
justice, and victim services to achieve real crime reduction in
Delaware."
According to the Delaware Sentencing
Accountability Commission (SENTAC) report issued last week,
offenders with extensive felony records are having a felony re-arrest
rate as low as 30% two years after release, much lower than the
40% rate for the entire offender population. CREST, Brandywine
Counseling, and the Center for Pastoral Care are examples of
successful substance abuse rehabilitation programs working with
the prison population.
Last year, led by members Desmond Kahn
and Phillip Bannowsky, the Green Party of Delaware endorsed
efforts to end mandatory minimum sentencing
such as those embodied in HB 436 and collected hundreds of
petition signatures. Says Bannowsky, "Jane Brady could
do herself a favor by supporting HB 436. Her counterproposals to
HB 436 last month are too costly, they don't work, and the people
no longer support them. Vivian Houghton's endorsement squares with
both current opinion and wise policy on criminal justice."
Houghton challenged her Democratic rival for
the Attorney General's office over the issue. "We call
upon Carl Schnee and his fellow Democrats to stop Democratic
Senate President Pro-Tem Tom Sharp from conniving with Republican
Jane Brady to bury HB 436." Sharp and Brady have both been
stubborn proponents of rigid sentencing policies, and Sharp may
try to barricade HB 436 in committee after it leaves the House for
the Senate." Houghton added, "A hugely
disproportionate number of those imprisoned for drug offenses are
people of color and the poor. I hope every Delaware citizen
will call their representatives today and demand that they support
HB 436. This bill will begin the process of putting our
criminal justice system back on track and will put people first
instead of the interests of political boondoggles and the prison
industry.
Houghton will formally kick-off her
campaign to become Delaware¹s next Attorney General Monday, April
29th, in a series of state-wide campaign stops.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
The Committee to Elect Vivian Houghton
Attorney General
The Green Party of Delaware
END
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