Opponents of Sentencing Reform Recklessly Conflate Drug Offenders With Murderers

Office of David Perdue

Ted Cruz is not the only erstwhile supporter of sentencing reform who seems to have abandoned the cause. Like Cruz, Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) cosponsored the Smarter Sentencing Act, which would allow thousands of drug offenders in federal prison to seek shorter sentences, but now opposes the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act because it would allow thousands of drug offenders in federal prison to seek shorter sentences. This week Perdue joined three other senators in urging their colleagues to vote against the bill. In my latest Forbes column, I analyze their arguments:

Last month Wendell Callahan was charged with using a knife to murder his ex-girlfriend and her two young daughters at their apartment in Columbus, Ohio. Opponents of sentencing reform have latched onto this horrifying crime as an example of what we can expect if Congress approves a bill that would allow the early release of federal prisoners serving time for drug offenses. But the case does not prove what critics of that bill think it does.

Read the whole thing.

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