But such exercises of discretion, the attorney general said, would be subject to high-level approval. Long sentences for low-level, non-violent drug offenses do not promote public safety, deterrence, and rehabilitation.
"It is a core principle that prosecutors should charge and pursue the most serious, readily provable offense", Sessions wrote in the memo.
And even if they opt not to pursue the most serious charges, prosecutors are still required to provide judges with all the details of a case when defendants are sentenced, which could lengthen prison terms.
But mandatory minimum sentencing is nothing new - the policies outlined by Sessions hearken back to the "tough-on-crime" era of the late 1980s and early 1990s.
Advocates quickly criticized the move as a revival of the worst aspects of the drug war that would subject nonviolent, lower-level offenders to unfairly harsh sentences. The memo concedes there will be cases in which "good judgment" will warrant a prosecutor to veer from that rule.
Udi Ofer, director of the organization's Campaign for Smart Justice, says it sounds a lot like a throwback to the war on drugs.
The Sessions memo was largely crafted by Steven H. Cook, a federal prosecutor who was president of the National Association of Assistant U.S. Attorneys and is now detailed to the Justice Department. Sessions says the opioid scourge shows the need to return to tougher tactics. That policy echoed shifts in law enforcement policy that had been sweeping the states in recent years. Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein will be responsible for overseeing the new guidelines.
Some facts about English learners in Oklahoma schools
Ritze said he believes the state could save $60 million if it did not have to pay to educate non-English speaking students. Supreme Court decision prohibits states from denying students free public education based on their immigration status.
Before the election of President Trump and his appointment of Sessions, there had been bipartisan support for sentencing and criminal justice reform.
Paul added, "Instead, we should treat our nation's drug epidemic as a health crisis and less as a "lock 'em up and throw away the key" problem".
The Trump administration initially said the president was acting off a recommendation from the No. 2 Department of Justice official and Attorney General Jeff SessionsJeff SessionsRobert Gates on Comey: Trump should have had his "ducks in a row" Dem on Comey firing: "I've got real concerns about a coverup" Four candidates interviewing for Federal Bureau of Investigation director job Saturday MORE. Sessions held a news conference on the new policy earlier Friday and Trump has said he made a decision to fire Comey because the President thought he was doing a bad job and for being a "showboat".
Under former president Barack Obama, a Democrat, the Justice Department had sought to reduce mandatory-minimum sentences to reduce jail time for low-level drug crimes and ease overcrowding at federal US prisons.
USA attorney general Jeff Sessions has issued a memo to federal prosecutors around the country, directing them to seek harsher penalties for low-level offenses-bringing back the type of policy that contributed to the ballooning mass- incarceration system in the United States. I know because I was a victim of the Rockefeller Drug Laws which mandated mandatory minimum sentencing. Holder himself responded, calling the policy "dumb on crime", "ideologically motivated", and "cookie cutter".
The investigation is led by Dana Boente, the United States attorney in Alexandria, Va., who also serves as the head of national security prosecutions at Justice Department headquarters.
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