U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse is praising Attorney General Eric Holder's plan to scale back the use of harsh sentences for some drug-related crimes.
The Rhode Island Democrat said the policies outlined by Holder "will allow federal prosecutors to use their limited resources more effectively by prioritizing high-level drug offenders over low-level, nonviolent offenders.
Whitehouse, a former state attorney general and chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Terrorism, said they would also "make better use of federal dollars while also keeping our communities safe and helping drug offenders turn their lives around."
In remarks to the American Bar Association in San Francisco, Holder said he is altering Justice Department policy so that low-level, nonviolent drug offenders with no ties to large-scale organizations, gangs or cartels won't be charged with offenses that impose mandatory minimum sentences.
Holder also said he favors diverting people convicted of low-level offenses to drug-treatment and community-service programs and expanding a prison program to allow for the release of some elderly, non-violent offenders.
With reports from the Associated Press