Ending mandatory minimums for drug crimes:

Spencer Timmerman
Intro: Weldon Angelos
Source: abc news, Former Federal Judge Regrets 55-Year Marijuana Sentence, by
Byron Pitts, Jackie Jesko and Lauren Effron, Feb 18 2015, 12:22 PM
Sentenced to 55 years in prison for 3 marijuana sales, and allegedly possessing a
firearm.
Angelos is a father of two young boys living in Salt Lake City, founded a record
company and even collaborated with Snoop Dogg.
Main points stated:
1) The Sentences are too long relative to other crimes
2) The laws punish the wrong people
3) The laws dont work 3) Theyre fiscally unsound

Main point 1:
Angelos was 35 years old at time of the article. He will be 78 when his term is up.
Paul Cassell, his now retired judge, said he wouldve gotten 24 years in prison if he
was a plane hijacker, 20 if he was a terrorist, and 11 years if he was a child rapist.
The average sentence length for inmates in BOP custody is 9 years. Charles E.
Samuels, Jr., Director of Federal Bureau of Prisons
Main point 2:
Mandatory minimums are supposed to go after big time dealers. However;
Source: (http://www.ussc.gov/research-and-publications/annual-reportssourcebooks/2012/sourcebook-2012) The United States Sentencing Commission
reported in 2012, that only 6.6 of drug offenders sentenced were considered having
an Aggravating Role in other words leading role, in a drug conspiracy (table 40).
Only 15% involved a weapon (table 39). The majority, 53%, had no previous
convictions (table 37).
Despite this nearly half of the prison population, 48% consisting of over 93,000
inmates, are in for Drug Offenses
(http://www.bop.gov/about/statistics/statistics_inmate_offenses.jsp)
Main point 3:
Drug use hasnt gone down. The CDC reported in 2002 6.2% of the population used
marijuana, while in 2013 7.5% used it
(http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus14.pdf#055)

Drugs are cheaper and more potent than ever.

(http://motherboard.vice.com/blog/heroin-cocaine-and-weed-are-stronger-cheaperand-easier-to-get-than-theyve-ever-been)
Average annual cost for an inmate in Utah is $29,349
(http://www.vera.org/sites/default/files/resources/downloads/the-price-of-prisons-40fact-sheets-updated-072012.pdf)
Legalization would save us roughly $46.7 billion annually
(http://object.cato.org/sites/cato.org/files/pubs/pdf/DrugProhibitionWP.pdf)
More than 1/3 of all murders and of all rape cases go unsolved
(https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2014/crime-in-the-u.s.2014/offenses-known-to-law-enforcement/clearances/main)
Conclusion:
Theres reason to be hopeful. Sentences have been changing. Just last March
HB0348 changed how drug charges are handled, changing most marijuana offences
into misdemeanors. (http://le.utah.gov/~2015/bills/static/HB0348.html)
There is hope Weldon Angelos, or at least others like him, will get justice.