246
Stevens, J., dissenting
which the statute was embedded.1 Perhaps as a result of these criticisms,2 the statute ultimately adopted limited the inducement to "prisoner[s] convicted of . . . nonviolent offense[s]." 18 U. S. C. § 3621(e)(2)(B).
Both the text of the statute and the aforementioned history demonstrate that Congress directly addressed the "precise question" of what offenses ought to disqualify prisoners from eligibility for a sentence reduction, and that its unambiguous answer was "violent offenses." Under the statute as enacted, those who commit crimes of violence are categorically barred from receiving a sentence reduction while those convicted of nonviolent offenses "may" receive such an inducement.
1 Throughout 1993 and 1994, Republican leaders gave numerous speeches contrasting their proposed crime bill and the administration's. One contrast repeatedly stressed was that the Republican bill set aside more money for prison construction while the Democratic bill allocated greater funds to drug treatment. This difference allegedly reflected differing views as to how society should deal with violent criminals. To this end, Republican leaders repeatedly criticized the inclusion of violent criminals in the sentence reduction provision. See, e. g., 139 Cong. Rec. 27209 (1994) (remarks of Sen. Hatch) ("Their treatment allows all Federal prisoners, including the most violent, to have their sentences reduced, if you will, at the Bureau of Prisons' discretion if they complete a drug treatment program. Boy, I can see where everybody is going to do that. You can imagine the sincerity of that"); 139 Cong. Rec. 27460 (1993) (re-marks of Sen. Hatch) ("The Democratic crime bill actually permits the Bureau of Prisons to decrease the sentence of Federal inmates—violent offenders included—who complete drug treatment programs. Their bill also proposes that States be given grant money which can be used to implement home confinement and other alternative sanctions for violent offenders").
2 The House initially approved a version of the bill that would have extended the inducement to all federal prisoners. The Senate, where the criticism of the inclusion of violent offenders was more pronounced, see n. 1, supra, limited the provision to nonviolent offenders. The Conference Committee accepted the Senate's limitation. H. R. Conf. Rep. No. 103- 711, p. 381 (1994).
Page: Index Previous 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 NextLast modified: October 4, 2007