Attorney General Holder to Join Rep. Maxine Waters for Criminal Justice Issue Forum on Mandatory Minimum Sentences

Criminal Justice Issue Forum on Mandatory Minimum Sentences 

Washington, DC– On Thursday, Sept. 19, Congresswoman Maxine Waters (D-CA) will serve as honorary host for a special Criminal Justice Issues Forum during the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s 2013 Annual Legislative Conference. Rep. Waters will join government officials and criminal justice reform advocates in a panel discussion on how state and federal policymakers can rethink mandatory minimum sentences and the failed war on drugs. Attorney General Eric Holder will give opening remarks at the forum. In light of his recent announcement that federal prosecutors will no longer pursue mandatory minimum prison sentences in cases involving low-level, non-violent drug offenders with no ties to major cartels, the panelists will discuss why Congress still needs to act to remove mandatory minimums from the federal code. The panel will also examine the extent current bank money laundering policies have failed to prevent the illegal laundering of millions in drug money through U.S. banks. The forum will take place at the Washington Convention Center.

 WHO:            Rep. Maxine Waters, Ranking Member, House Financial Services Committee

Attorney General Eric Holder, U.S. Department of Justice

                        Invited Panelists:

·         Raymond Baker, President, Global Financial Integrity

·         John Cassara, Anti-Money Laundering Consultant

·         Nkechi Taifa, Senior Policy Analyst, Open Society Institute

·         Molly Gill, Government Affairs Counsel, Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM)

·         Kemba Smith – Founder, Kemba Smith Foundation

·         Charles Ogletree – Professor, Harvard University School of Law

WHAT:          Criminal Justice Issues Forum, Mandatory Minimums: Rethinking Failed

Sentencing Policies and Targeting Money Laundering and Major Drug

Traffickers

WHEN:          Thursday, September 19, 2013

3:00 – 5:00 p.m. ET

WHERE:       Washington Convention Center

                        Room 146B

                        801 Mt. Vernon Place NW

                        Washington, DC