Among the provisions of the sentencing reform bill introduced yesterday is one that would alleviate sentences imposed under what is called 924(c) "stacking.' At present, under 18 USC 924(c), a defendant who carries a gun in the course of committing a drug felony is subject to a 10 year mandatory minimum term for the firearm, in addition to the sentence for the drugs. For a second and subsequent 924(c) offense, he is subject to consecutive mandatory terms of 25 years. It was this sort of "stacking" that resulted in the decades-long prison term for repeat pot dealer Weldon Angelos. Angelos undertook a number of drug deals wearing, but not using, a pistol. (The judge in Angelos' case, now-Prof. Paul Cassell, believed the sentence was too harsh, and, on the facts of that case, I agree, as I have said).
Yesterday's bill would, if enacted, repeal the "stacking" provision, and allow retroactive application of this relief. The only beneficiaries would be gun-toting felons.
Although yesterday's multiple murders in Oregon were not (so far as is yet known) connected to drug dealing, they highlight, in a grotesque way, the evils of guns in the hands of criminals. And multiple shootings in the drug business are far from unknown. In fact, they are routine, as we can see in the murder spikes in Washington, Baltimore, Chicago and cities around the country.
One can only imagine the national shock and disbelief if legislation to take it easier on gunplay had been introduced on the same day as the Charleston massacre. In my view, it is no less shocking, and no less unacceptable, for such legislation to be considered in the immediate aftermath of yesterday's mass murder in Oregon.
What are these people thinking?
Leave a comment