Ashcroft as Cotton Mather
The Chicago Sun Times criticizes Attorney General John Ashcroft for his recent memos to Prosecutors reducing their ability to plea bargain and directing them to report Judges who grant downward departures in sentencings contrary to the Government's wishes:
Americans like to be tough on crime. That's why we have a higher percentage of our population in prison than anywhere else in the world. But we also have a lot of respect for our judges and federal prosecutors. Which is why it hurts to see this Cotton Mather who is running the Justice Department keep trying to chain them to a reflexive punitiveness that would shut down the system.
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