Raeanna Woody of Iowa had two nonviolent drug convictions, for possessing marijuana and delivering 12 grams of methamphetamine. When she was arrested in a third drug case, then-U.S. Attorney Matthew Whitaker decided to make an example of her, reports the Washington Post. Under Whitaker, now acting U.S. Attorney General, Woody was given a choice: spend the rest of her life in jail, or accept a plea bargain sentence of 21 to 27 years. She took the deal. Judge Robert Pratt accused prosecutors of having “misused” their authority in the case, and President Obama commuted her sentence after 11 years. The case is notable for showing Whitaker’s efforts to obtain unusually stiff sentences for people accused of drug crimes. His office was more likely than all but one other district in the U.S. to impose the harshest sentences on drug offenders, says Iowa federal judge Mark Bennett, who it called a “deeply troubling disparity.”
President Trump has announced support for legislation that would give judges more discretion in sentencing nonviolent drug offenders and reducing prison terms. Former Attorney General Jeff Sessions opposed the bill. Supporters cite Whitaker’s five years as a U.S. Attorney as the most relevant experience to be acting attorney general. He was working recommended for the job by Sen. Charles Grassley (R-IA). In 2005, Whitaker said his office had tried 500 cases, of which 271 were drug cases, most of them involving methamphetamines.