Continuing his public appeal against the release of violent offenders, Attorney General Michael Mukasey will address the effects of the retroactive guidelines for crack cocaine sentencing in front of the national Fraternal Order of Police this afternoon.
Mukasey will speak to about 150 FOP members from across the country who have gathered in Washington this week for a legislative update on their organization's priorities. Chief among the issues of concern at the FOP is their opposition to the retroactive application of the sentencing guidelines, which the U.S. Sentencing Commission voted for last December.
Mukasey's 3:45 p.m. speech is part of the FOP's annual Day on the Hill, in which the legislative office and committee brief members on their upcoming congressional agenda.
Mukasey earlier this month asked Congress to block the Sentencing Commission guidelines, which will go into effect next Monday and make some 1,600 convicts eligible for immediate release.
Mukasey says the early release of felons will impact some communities already experiencing upticks in violent crime. He told the House Judiciary Committee at a Feb. 7 oversight hearing that up to 70 percent of the inmates have violent records, in which guns were used or possessed at the time of the crimes.
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