U.S. sentences slashed in Ariz.

[Sal316]

Arizona Republic


Federal prosecutors in Arizona lead the nation in offering reduced prison terms at a time when U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft is campaigning against judges who impose sentences that fall below federal guidelines.

About 70 percent of federal convicts in the state get prison terms below guidelines set by the U.S. Sentencing Commission, about double the national average.

Virtually no one criticizes the plea deals in Arizona and other Southwestern states. The reason: Going to trial against the glut of criminal aliens and low-level drug couriers along the Mexican border would overwhelm the federal justice system here. It's a policy approved by Ashcroft, as is offering reduced sentences to criminals who agree to be witnesses or informers.

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I deplore minimum sentencing standards, but this is just another case of * and his buddies saying one thing and doing another.