SENTENCING GUIDELINES SHOULD BE REPEALED NOW

The question being grappled with by a governor's task force over
whether to give juries in Tennessee the power to determine aggravating
factors in crimes only highlights a bigger problem with American
justice. Federal mandatory sentencing guidelines first passed in the
1980s, while well intentioned, have actually made it harder, if not
impossible, for true justice to be served. Those guidelines need to be
repealed so that discretion can be put back in the hands of judges,
where it belongs.

The recent controversy over sentencing is the result of a U.S. Supreme
Court ruling in June. In the case of Blakely vs. Washington, justices
ruled that any facts used to increase a prison sentence must be
decided by a jury, not the judge. That ruling has called into question
the constitutionality of federal sentencing guidelines and cast doubt
on cases across the country, including some right here in Tennessee.

Originally, the federal sentencing guidelines were intended to bring
uniformity to the nation's courts. A noble goal. The problem was, that
uniformity was forged at the expense of judicial discretion. Instead
of judges being able to take into account any mitigating circumstances
that might affect sentencing, their hands were tied and they were
forced to impose harsh penalties. The end result was people being
sentenced to long sentences for relatively minor offenses. That's not
justice. That's insanity.

The federal sentencing guidelines are a failed experiment. They should
be repealed and judges should be given the freedom to look at each
case individually, and to weigh them on their merits.

As for the question in Tennessee, giving juries the power to determine
aggravating circumstances just makes sense. This system is already in
place for capital cases, so extending it to include all felonies isn't
that much of a stretch.

The Supreme Court's ruling is a wise move toward restoring some
balance in our judicial system. Justice may be blind, as the saying
goes, but that doesn't mean it has to be without compassion.