18 Fleetwood, Jennifer, Five kilos: Penalties and practice in the international cocaine trade (2011) 51 British Journal of Criminology 375CrossRefGoogle Scholar. In R v Morris, the Court This publication provides an updated recidivism analysis of crack cocaine offenders who were released early after The Commission votes to publish to the Federal Register proposed amendments to the federal sentencing guidelines. The functions follow a logarithmic pattern as well, thus corresponding to a more lenient sentence as the weight of the trafficked drug increases. The starting point of such sentences depends on the type of drug and its weight. Under Iowa law, many people are currently serving a Class C felony sentence under Iowa Code section 124.401 (1) (c) for offenses such as: drug possession with (83 FR 3869). However, the difference between the slopes of the smallest and largest drug weight categories is substantially greater in Hong Kong than in England and Wales. It also determined that petitioner was a career of-fender under the Sentencing Guidelines. This website is produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense. If this slope with jurisdiction B is compared with drug X having a slope of 1 with the same minimum weight category threshold, every additional gram of drug trafficked will add another month to the defendant's sentence. The Sinaloa Cartel is a violent, transnational drug trafficking organization based in Mexico that engaged in the manufacture, distribution, and importation of ton quantities of cocaine and marijuana from Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Peru, Panama, Costa Rica, and Honduras to Mexico and into the United States. 
14 Hirsch, Andreas von, Proportionality in the Philosophy of Punishment (1992) 16 Crime and Justice 55Google Scholar. 40 Roberts, Julian V, The evolution of sentencing guidelines in Minnesota and England and Wales (2019) 48 Crime and Justice 187CrossRefGoogle Scholar. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. All content copyright 2022 Homeland Security Today. Download PDF . For countries that still retain the capital punishment, the death penalty is considered to be the ultimate deterrence. Extension period of disqualification from driving where a custodial sentence is also imposed, 2. Disqualification until a test is passed, 6. U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza In England and Wales, this trend of decreasing the value of slopes is also observed across the three curves stratified by offender culpability. The figures of each of the drug trafficking guidelines for the selected drug types in England and Wales and Hong Kong are displayed below. In England and Wales, this sentencing approach was captured in the Sentencing Council's definitive sentencing guidelines. An official website of the United States Government. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corinne Cordero-Romo from the Gang Section is in charge of the prosecution of the case. From this figure, it is clear that Hong Kong has a much steeper, and thus harsher, sentencing range for cocaine and heroin. This study compares drug trafficking sentencing guidelines in England and Wales and Hong Kong. Gastelum Avila faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the drug conspiracy charge and a mandatory consecutive sentence of 30 years for the firearms 10 UK Sentencing Council, Assessing the impact and implementation of the Sentencing Council's drug offences definitive guideline (1 Jun 2018) accessed 13 Jan 2022. In July 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison for being a principal leader of a continuing criminal enterprise, narcotics trafficking, using a firearm in furtherance of his drug crimes, and participating in a money laundering conspiracy. 
Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Postdoctoral Fellow, Faculty Of Law, The Chinese University Of Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, the sentence guidelines focus on the trafficked drug weight and do not incorporate a structured consideration of culpability like in England and Wales. The consequence would be inverse to that of the graph in Figure 1a, where the trafficking of heavier drugs weights would face an expotentially heavier sentence than the trafficking of smaller drug weights. 3 United Nations Convention Against Illict Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (adopted 19 Dec 1988, entered into force 11 Nov 1990) UNTS No 27627. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. !X)eMP7<6qX:=tu-Wwe:Ymn>/7jvo8Sty#+b`._W%Y[v[obYh;K#ZoQyAH7 {v8y2yv3t)`.`WKUk(dp'sIXi'? Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The degree of the proportionality of the linear functions was assessed using the linear graphs. Table 6. A curve mimicking the graph in Figure 1a would seek to deter the trafficking of smaller drug weights more than the trafficking of heavier drug weights after a given threshold is achieved, marginal increases in the drug weight tend to correspond with only a minor increase in sentence length. After determining the category in step one, the judge or sentencer will then consult the table provided in the guidelines in step two to determine the starting point of a sentence, depending on the class of drugs as stipulated by legislation. In July 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison for being a principal leader of a continuing criminal enterprise, narcotics trafficking, using a firearm in furtherance of his drug crimes, and participating in a money laundering conspiracy. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the National University of Singapore. This was echoed in HKSAR v Kilima Abubakar Abbas, where the Hong Kong Court of Appeal stated that each country will shape its own approach to suit its own conditions, the desires of its own people, its attitudes to punishment as well as the particular manifestation of the problem in its respective community.Footnote 39, The legislative basis for England and Wales legal response to drug trafficking is the Misuse of Dangerous Drugs Act of 1971, which banned the trafficking of dangerous drugs from unlicensed sources.Footnote 40 An early interpretation of the law used street value as the representative measure of harm, as it indicated how much the offender benefitted from the act and the potential harm the drugs posed.Footnote 41 However, the Court in R v Aranguren noted that this measure was not accurate because it depended on supply availability and cautioned that if drugs were readily available, the price to the consumer would drop and, therefore, by taking the street value as the criteria rather than weight, the sentencing level for like quantities of drugs would become lower as supplies became more plentiful.Footnote 42, To ensure sentencing consistency in drug trafficking cases, the court laid down sentencing guidelines based on the drug weight (of 100 per cent purity). In both jurisdictions, the starting point of a sentence is determined by the seriousness of the offence. Do not retain this copy. Figure 6. Therefore, Hong Kong's courts are aware that accurately determining an offender's role is not always feasible. In the same case, Hong Kong judges in Kilima compared the two jurisdictions guidelines and stated that England and Wales guidelines are too over-prescriptive.Footnote 85 Macrae VP argues that the inclusion of culpability would present an additional challenge of ascertaining the culpability first. This calculation assumes that, when sentencing, judges use the laid down guidelines to ascertain the starting point of the sentence. It is also important to note that Hong Kong's sentencing guidelines have a greater number of weight categories than those of England and Wales. This Court is of the view that the appropriate starting point is 21 years imprisonment.Footnote 67. For comparison with England and Wales, this study looks at two drug tariffs: cocaine/heroin and ketamine.Footnote 75, Table 3. However, the harm they are likely to cause to another person is presumed. Official websites use .gov Proportionality in sentencing is based on two aspects: original proportionality and cardinal proportionality. In January 2016, Mexican authorities arrested Gastelum Avila and Guzman Loera together in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, as they attempted to flee arrest. The only difference between the different offender roles is the minimum starting point weight. The culpability of the offender is based on the offender's role in the offence and is divided into three groups. The case studies of these drug mules by Harper et al and Fleetwood suggest the need to consider the level of involvement in the actual conspiracy of drug trafficking. Sentencing Guidelines in England and Wales for Ketamine. Deterrence can be viewed through general and specific deterrence. For each weight category, there is a separate slope attributed to it. However, such sentences will likely neither encourage nor deter drug trafficking behaviour. The sentencing of drug traffickers has become a punitive measure that is often calculated with mathematical consistency. Through cross-comparative analysis, the methodologies judges use to arrive at the starting point of sentencing and the assumptions behind the sentencing guidelines are revealed. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentence Starting Point for Cocaine and Heroin in Months (Hong Kong). We received 43 responses. As sentence lengths are a composite of a defendant's culpability and risk of harm, an exponential model incorporates the assumption that the risk of harm exponentially increases as the trafficked drug weight linearly increases. However, the onus is placed on the judges to scrutinise each case for any additional signs of culpability. 30 Anthony Morgan & Alex Gannoni, Methamphetamine dependence and domestic violence among police detainees (Australian Institute of Criminology Research Series on Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice no 588, Feb 2020) accessed 16 Mar 2022; Cherry H Tam et al, Hidden drug abuse in Hong Kong: From social acquaintance to social isolation (2018) 9 Frontiers in Psychiatry 457; United Nations International Drug Control Programme (n 4); Paul SF Yip, Assessing the socioeconomic costs of drug abuse in Hong Kong SAR (HKJC Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, The University of Hong Kong, Sep 2017) accessed 16 Mar 2022. Although sentencing guidelines can help Kentucky judges hone in on average penalties to assign in certain cases, the court can use their discretion to determine whats best. 
In this section, learn about the Commissions mission, structure, and ongoing work. 49 UK Drug Policy Commission, Response to the Sentencing Council drug offenses guideline consultation (UK Drug Policy Commission Briefing, Jun 2011) accessed 16 Mar 2022. To present a more accurate comparison of the two guidelines, the slopes of each linear function were also compared. A Chronology of Amendments to Career Offender Guidelines, Commentary and Policy Statements B 4B1.1, 4B1.2, 11/1/87 C 4B1.1, 4B1.2, 11/1/09 D Drug Trafficking Offense Chart E Tables of Statutory Maxima for Assault and Battery and Resisting Arrest Between 15 January 2020 and 7 May 2020 the Council consulted on revisions to the drug offences guidelines and new draft guidelines covering offences provided for by the Psychoactive Substances Act 2016. Using a novel equation called the arithmetic starting point of sentence, this study examines the starting sentence based on each gram of drugs by undertaking a comparative analysis of the respective jurisdictions. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Ketamine Starting Sentence Points for Category 14 Drug Weights for each Offender Role Category (England and Wales). Please also be sure HSToday Q&A: Exploring Emergency Communications Month with CISA Executive Assistant Director Billy Bob Brown, Jr. USCIS Updates Guidance on Administrative Naturalization Ceremony Venues, Maryland Man Charged for Call Threatening to Cut Throats of LGBTQ Advocacy Group After Nashville Shooting, Human Smuggler Sent to Prison for Role in Deadly Hostage-Taking Scheme Following HSI Victoria-Led Investigation, PERSPECTIVE: Reasons for the United States to Be More Invested in Nagalim Self-Determination. Therefore, a defendant who trafficked 5 grams of cocaine in Hong Kong would have a starting sentence of 42 months. To illustrate the basis of the sentencing practice, the arithmetic starting points (which will be discussed in detail later) were calculated for the entire weight range provided in the sentencing guidelines in England and Wales and Hong Kong. There are different classifications of drug offenses and each one carries with it both minimum and maximum sentences. Production of a controlled drug, Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (section 4(2)(a) or (b)) Cultivation of cannabis plant, Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 (section 6(2)) Triable either way unless the defendant could receive the minimum sentence of seven years for a third drug trafficking offence under section 313 of the Sentencing Code in which case the offence is substantial assistance These characteristics are captured in drug trafficking penalties and are clearly reflective of a deterrence framework. 
A non-profit magazine and media platform, HSToday provides readers with the whole story, placing facts and comments in context to inform debate and drive realistic solutions to some of the nations most vexing security challenges. 51 Sentencing Council, Drug Offenses, Response to Consultation, (Sentencing Council, 2012) accessed 8 Jan 2022. 23 International Narcotics Control Board, Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 2007 (United Nations 2008). Each year, the Commission reviews and refines these policies in light of congressional action, decisions from courts of appeals, sentencing-related research, and input from the criminal justice community. In other words, the lower the drug weight trafficked, the more steeply the penalty increase for each additional gram of drug being trafficked. Has data issue: true In England and Wales, a combination of drug type and weight in the judicial determination of an offender's role is used (discussed in further detail below). The slope of the linear functions provides a numerical basis for interjurisdictional comparisons of the leniency or severity of the jurisdictions guidelines. 17 Green, Penny, Drugs, Trafficking and Criminal Policy: The Scapegoat Strategy (Waterside Press 1998)Google Scholar. In Hong Kong, there are nine categories of drug weights covering a range of 15,000 grams, each with their own sentence thresholds, compared to four categories in England and Wales that only cover a range of 5000 grams. All rights reserved. In this graph, it is again apparent that overall, Hong Kong's starting points are much higher than those of England and Wales. Stories of addiction have captured the public's attention, thus impelling governments to respond with swift, certain, and severe punishment. While there has been a recalibration of offender culpability (eg, drug mules), very little attention has been drawn to sentencing that is based on harm, which is determined by the quantity of drugs.Footnote 9. 4 United Nations International Drug Control Programme, The social impact of drug abuse (World Summit for Social Development-Copenhagen, 612 Mar 1995) accessed 16 Mar 2022. 
Gastelum Avila faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the drug conspiracy charge and a mandatory consecutive sentence of 30 years for the firearms offense. The overall harshness of the scale (a minimum of 2 to 5 years for 1050 grams of narcotics in the first band to a maximum of 1820 years for 400600 grams of narcotics) was stated to strongly deter the international trade in drugs.Footnote 65, The absolute maximum sentence provided for drug trafficking was life for weights above 600 grams, which was considered a substantial weight. 563 0 obj
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Ketamine Starting Sentence Points for Category 1-4 Drug Weights for each Offender Role Category (England and Wales). However, this is an anomaly within Hong Kong's overall drug trafficking sentencing guidelines as the decreasing slope pattern resumes after 600 grams onwards. This bill reduced the punishment for transporting and possessing with intent to distribute a dangerous controlled substance. Thus, the guidelines should follow the graph in Figure 1c, where the slope of each additional gram of trafficked drug is consistent across all drug band weights. The purpose of this report is to contribute to the ongoing assessment of federal cocaine sentencing policy by 6 Gloria Lai, Drugs, crime and punishment: Proportionality of sentencing for drug offences (IDPC Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies No 20, Jun 2012) accessed 16 Mar 2022. However, there is some justification behind Hong Kong's decision not to incorporate culpability into its sentencing guidelines. Plugging the variables into the above equation computes to 42 months. The Justice Departments Office of International Affairs provided valuable assistance with securing the arrest and extradition of Gastelum Avila. The Hong Kong Court of Appeal has provided a further breakdown of categorical sentence ranges based on the following weight ranges (in grams): 1050, 50200, 200400, 400600, 6001200, 12004000, and 40005000. Figure 3. Production of a controlled drug Class A Maximum: Life imprisonment Prevalence and community impact statements, General guideline: overarching principles, Reduction in sentence for a guilty plea - first hearing on or after 1 June 2017, Sentencing offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders, or neurological impairments, How to use the pronouncement-card builder, section 3 (and Customs and Excise Management Act 1979 (section 170(2)) fraudulent evasion of a prohibition by bringing into or taking out of the UK a controlled drug, section 4(3) supplying or offering to supply a controlled drug, section 5(3) possession of a controlled drug with intent to supply it to another, section 4(2)(a) or (b) production of a controlled drug, section 6(2) cultivation of a cannabis plant, section 8 permitting premises to be used for drug-related activity, section 5(2) possession of a controlled drug, section 4 producing a psychoactive substance, section 5 supplying, or offering to supply, a psychoactive substance, section 7 possession of a psychoactive substance with intent to supply, section 8 importing or exporting a psychoactive substance, section 9 possession of a psychoactive substance in a custodial institution. In all other cases, Hong Kong's starting points are 1.1 times to 2 times greater than the starting points of England and Wales. The new guidelines, which will come into effect on 1 April 2021, update the guidelines published in 2012 and apply to adult offenders. 29 notes. 
Figure 3 is a plot of the linear function for Hong Kong's sentence starting point for cocaine and heroin. This document provides an overview of those offenders, though this information may vary depending on the type of To graph the guidelines, the arithmetic starting points corresponding to full integer drug weights were calculated using the following equation (Equation 1). The mere existence of these anomalies suggests that the category weight and sentence thresholds should receive closer inspection. Commissioners are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Criminal Divisions Office of Enforcement Operations also provided significant assistance. Render date: 2023-04-05T14:23:12.226Z WebFelony Sentencing Classifications Class A: 10-30 years Class B: 5-15 years Class C: 3-10 years Class D: Up to 7 years Class E: Up to 4 years Persistent Offenders: Have been found guilty of 2 or more felonies committed at different times; may be sentenced one felony class level higher. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Gastelum Avila remained detained in Mexico pending his extradition. Intuitively, the more planning and direction by an offender, the more blameworthy they should be for inflicting the scourge of drugs upon a society. Federal Register Notice of Amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines for United States Courts. How Indonesia can lead a new global approach to treating drug traffickers as human trafficked victims (2018) 8 Asian Journal of International Law 166. Web*The minimum sentence for a violation after two or more prior convictions for a felony drug offense have become final is a mandatory term of life imprisonment without release and a Allocation, offences taken into consideration and totality, Fraud, bribery and money laundering offences, General guideline and expanded explanations in sentencing guidelines, Health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences, Imposition of community and custodial sentences, Miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines, Offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders or neurological impairments, Disposals for offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders or neurological impairments, Types of sentences for children and young people, Definitive guidelines archive of print editions, 8. Disqualification of company directors, 16. In Hong Kong, drug types are viewed independently and may have overlapping sentencing guidelines, such as cocaine and heroin. 33 European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Alternatives to punishment for drug-using offenders (EMCDDA Papers, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2015). The largest starting point difference between the two jurisdictions is 132 months at 1000 grams. Osler found that the ordinal proportionality of drug trafficking sentencing is obscenely excessive in comparison to that of other offences such as rape and murder.Footnote 27 This led him to conclude that the US Federal Sentencing Guidelines for drug trafficking are fundamentally unprincipled.Footnote 28 Osler criticises drug trafficking sentencing as being based on an indirect risk of harm rather than a form of direct harm that is readily apparent in other offences.Footnote 29 This highlights the problematic aspect of defining harm for the offence of drug trafficking. 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Produced and published at U.S. taxpayer expense thresholds should receive closer inspection is not always feasible Notice Amendments. Certain, and severe punishment Register Notice of Amendments to the sentencing of drug offenses and each one carries it... 17 Green, Penny, Drugs, trafficking and Criminal Policy: the Scapegoat Strategy ( Waterside 1998. Between the two guidelines, the death penalty is considered to be the ultimate deterrence is justification. Would have a starting sentence of 42 months judges to scrutinise each case for any signs! Will likely neither encourage nor deter drug trafficking guidelines for United States courts the weight the.
14 Hirsch, Andreas von, Proportionality in the Philosophy of Punishment (1992) 16 Crime and Justice 55Google Scholar. 40 Roberts, Julian V, The evolution of sentencing guidelines in Minnesota and England and Wales (2019) 48 Crime and Justice 187CrossRefGoogle Scholar. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. All content copyright 2022 Homeland Security Today. Download PDF . For countries that still retain the capital punishment, the death penalty is considered to be the ultimate deterrence. Extension period of disqualification from driving where a custodial sentence is also imposed, 2. Disqualification until a test is passed, 6. U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza In England and Wales, this trend of decreasing the value of slopes is also observed across the three curves stratified by offender culpability. The figures of each of the drug trafficking guidelines for the selected drug types in England and Wales and Hong Kong are displayed below. In England and Wales, this sentencing approach was captured in the Sentencing Council's definitive sentencing guidelines. An official website of the United States Government. Assistant U.S. Attorney Corinne Cordero-Romo from the Gang Section is in charge of the prosecution of the case. From this figure, it is clear that Hong Kong has a much steeper, and thus harsher, sentencing range for cocaine and heroin. This study compares drug trafficking sentencing guidelines in England and Wales and Hong Kong. Gastelum Avila faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the drug conspiracy charge and a mandatory consecutive sentence of 30 years for the firearms 10 UK Sentencing Council, Assessing the impact and implementation of the Sentencing Council's drug offences definitive guideline (1 Jun 2018) Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Postdoctoral Fellow, Faculty Of Law, The Chinese University Of Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, the sentence guidelines focus on the trafficked drug weight and do not incorporate a structured consideration of culpability like in England and Wales. The consequence would be inverse to that of the graph in Figure 1a, where the trafficking of heavier drugs weights would face an expotentially heavier sentence than the trafficking of smaller drug weights. 3 United Nations Convention Against Illict Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (adopted 19 Dec 1988, entered into force 11 Nov 1990) UNTS No 27627. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. !X)eMP7<6qX:=tu-Wwe:Ymn>/7jvo8Sty#+b`._W%Y[v[obYh;K#ZoQyAH7 {v8y2yv3t)`.`WKUk(dp'sIXi'? Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The degree of the proportionality of the linear functions was assessed using the linear graphs. Table 6. A curve mimicking the graph in Figure 1a would seek to deter the trafficking of smaller drug weights more than the trafficking of heavier drug weights after a given threshold is achieved, marginal increases in the drug weight tend to correspond with only a minor increase in sentence length. After determining the category in step one, the judge or sentencer will then consult the table provided in the guidelines in step two to determine the starting point of a sentence, depending on the class of drugs as stipulated by legislation. In July 2019, he was sentenced to life in prison for being a principal leader of a continuing criminal enterprise, narcotics trafficking, using a firearm in furtherance of his drug crimes, and participating in a money laundering conspiracy. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the National University of Singapore. This was echoed in HKSAR v Kilima Abubakar Abbas, where the Hong Kong Court of Appeal stated that each country will shape its own approach to suit its own conditions, the desires of its own people, its attitudes to punishment as well as the particular manifestation of the problem in its respective community.Footnote 39, The legislative basis for England and Wales legal response to drug trafficking is the Misuse of Dangerous Drugs Act of 1971, which banned the trafficking of dangerous drugs from unlicensed sources.Footnote 40 An early interpretation of the law used street value as the representative measure of harm, as it indicated how much the offender benefitted from the act and the potential harm the drugs posed.Footnote 41 However, the Court in R v Aranguren noted that this measure was not accurate because it depended on supply availability and cautioned that if drugs were readily available, the price to the consumer would drop and, therefore, by taking the street value as the criteria rather than weight, the sentencing level for like quantities of drugs would become lower as supplies became more plentiful.Footnote 42, To ensure sentencing consistency in drug trafficking cases, the court laid down sentencing guidelines based on the drug weight (of 100 per cent purity). In both jurisdictions, the starting point of a sentence is determined by the seriousness of the offence. Do not retain this copy. Figure 6. Therefore, Hong Kong's courts are aware that accurately determining an offender's role is not always feasible. In the same case, Hong Kong judges in Kilima compared the two jurisdictions guidelines and stated that England and Wales guidelines are too over-prescriptive.Footnote 85 Macrae VP argues that the inclusion of culpability would present an additional challenge of ascertaining the culpability first. This calculation assumes that, when sentencing, judges use the laid down guidelines to ascertain the starting point of the sentence. It is also important to note that Hong Kong's sentencing guidelines have a greater number of weight categories than those of England and Wales. This Court is of the view that the appropriate starting point is 21 years imprisonment.Footnote 67. For comparison with England and Wales, this study looks at two drug tariffs: cocaine/heroin and ketamine.Footnote 75, Table 3. However, the harm they are likely to cause to another person is presumed. Official websites use .gov Proportionality in sentencing is based on two aspects: original proportionality and cardinal proportionality. In January 2016, Mexican authorities arrested Gastelum Avila and Guzman Loera together in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, as they attempted to flee arrest. The only difference between the different offender roles is the minimum starting point weight. The culpability of the offender is based on the offender's role in the offence and is divided into three groups. The case studies of these drug mules by Harper et al and Fleetwood suggest the need to consider the level of involvement in the actual conspiracy of drug trafficking. Sentencing Guidelines in England and Wales for Ketamine. Deterrence can be viewed through general and specific deterrence. For each weight category, there is a separate slope attributed to it. However, such sentences will likely neither encourage nor deter drug trafficking behaviour. The sentencing of drug traffickers has become a punitive measure that is often calculated with mathematical consistency. Through cross-comparative analysis, the methodologies judges use to arrive at the starting point of sentencing and the assumptions behind the sentencing guidelines are revealed. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. Sentence Starting Point for Cocaine and Heroin in Months (Hong Kong). We received 43 responses. As sentence lengths are a composite of a defendant's culpability and risk of harm, an exponential model incorporates the assumption that the risk of harm exponentially increases as the trafficked drug weight linearly increases. However, the onus is placed on the judges to scrutinise each case for any additional signs of culpability. 30 Anthony Morgan & Alex Gannoni, Methamphetamine dependence and domestic violence among police detainees (Australian Institute of Criminology Research Series on Trends & Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice no 588, Feb 2020) In this section, learn about the Commissions mission, structure, and ongoing work. 49 UK Drug Policy Commission, Response to the Sentencing Council drug offenses guideline consultation (UK Drug Policy Commission Briefing, Jun 2011) A non-profit magazine and media platform, HSToday provides readers with the whole story, placing facts and comments in context to inform debate and drive realistic solutions to some of the nations most vexing security challenges. 51 Sentencing Council, Drug Offenses, Response to Consultation, (Sentencing Council, 2012) Gastelum Avila faces a maximum penalty of life in prison for the drug conspiracy charge and a mandatory consecutive sentence of 30 years for the firearms offense. The overall harshness of the scale (a minimum of 2 to 5 years for 1050 grams of narcotics in the first band to a maximum of 1820 years for 400600 grams of narcotics) was stated to strongly deter the international trade in drugs.Footnote 65, The absolute maximum sentence provided for drug trafficking was life for weights above 600 grams, which was considered a substantial weight. 563 0 obj
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Ketamine Starting Sentence Points for Category 1-4 Drug Weights for each Offender Role Category (England and Wales). However, this is an anomaly within Hong Kong's overall drug trafficking sentencing guidelines as the decreasing slope pattern resumes after 600 grams onwards. This bill reduced the punishment for transporting and possessing with intent to distribute a dangerous controlled substance. Thus, the guidelines should follow the graph in Figure 1c, where the slope of each additional gram of trafficked drug is consistent across all drug band weights. The purpose of this report is to contribute to the ongoing assessment of federal cocaine sentencing policy by 6 Gloria Lai, Drugs, crime and punishment: Proportionality of sentencing for drug offences (IDPC Series on Legislative Reform of Drug Policies No 20, Jun 2012) Figure 3 is a plot of the linear function for Hong Kong's sentence starting point for cocaine and heroin. This document provides an overview of those offenders, though this information may vary depending on the type of To graph the guidelines, the arithmetic starting points corresponding to full integer drug weights were calculated using the following equation (Equation 1). The mere existence of these anomalies suggests that the category weight and sentence thresholds should receive closer inspection. Commissioners are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate. The Criminal Divisions Office of Enforcement Operations also provided significant assistance. Render date: 2023-04-05T14:23:12.226Z WebFelony Sentencing Classifications Class A: 10-30 years Class B: 5-15 years Class C: 3-10 years Class D: Up to 7 years Class E: Up to 4 years Persistent Offenders: Have been found guilty of 2 or more felonies committed at different times; may be sentenced one felony class level higher. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Gastelum Avila remained detained in Mexico pending his extradition. Intuitively, the more planning and direction by an offender, the more blameworthy they should be for inflicting the scourge of drugs upon a society. Federal Register Notice of Amendments to the Sentencing Guidelines for United States Courts. How Indonesia can lead a new global approach to treating drug traffickers as human trafficked victims (2018) 8 Asian Journal of International Law 166. Web*The minimum sentence for a violation after two or more prior convictions for a felony drug offense have become final is a mandatory term of life imprisonment without release and a Allocation, offences taken into consideration and totality, Fraud, bribery and money laundering offences, General guideline and expanded explanations in sentencing guidelines, Health and safety offences, corporate manslaughter and food safety and hygiene offences, Imposition of community and custodial sentences, Miscellaneous amendments to sentencing guidelines, Offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders or neurological impairments, Disposals for offenders with mental disorders, developmental disorders or neurological impairments, Types of sentences for children and young people, Definitive guidelines archive of print editions, 8. Disqualification of company directors, 16. In Hong Kong, drug types are viewed independently and may have overlapping sentencing guidelines, such as cocaine and heroin. 33 European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction, Alternatives to punishment for drug-using offenders (EMCDDA Papers, Publications Office of the European Union, Luxembourg, 2015). The largest starting point difference between the two jurisdictions is 132 months at 1000 grams. Osler found that the ordinal proportionality of drug trafficking sentencing is obscenely excessive in comparison to that of other offences such as rape and murder.Footnote 27 This led him to conclude that the US Federal Sentencing Guidelines for drug trafficking are fundamentally unprincipled.Footnote 28 Osler criticises drug trafficking sentencing as being based on an indirect risk of harm rather than a form of direct harm that is readily apparent in other offences.Footnote 29 This highlights the problematic aspect of defining harm for the offence of drug trafficking. 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