WASHINGTON D.C., DC — D.C.'s U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves is pushing back on the council's nomination of a returning citizen to serve in the District's Sentencing Commission.
After spending 27 years behind bars for murder, Joel Castón was tapped last month to become one of the 17 members of the independent agency that helps shape sentencing guidelines for judges in DC Superior Court.
The Council is set to vote on the nomination on Tuesday morning.
The commission is tasked with advising the DC Council on issues that promote fair and consistent sentencing policy. According to the agency's website, its primary responsibilities are to monitor the implementation and use of D.C.'s sentencing guidelines and to review and analyze data on sentencing practices and trends in the District of Columbia.
In a five-page letter sent on Jan. 2, Graves voiced his concerns about D.C.'s crime rate and Castón's potential influence in the judicial system as a commissioner.
"The District’s Sentencing Guidelines power a revolving door for those arrested and prosecuted in this jurisdiction," D.C.'s top attorney wrote in the letter.
Graves says one of the biggest issues he has been trying to flag is the sentences that his office receives in the cases they prosecute.
"That is driven largely by these guidelines that are created by D.C.'s sentencing commission that advise judges in general for certain offenses the ranges that would be appropriate. In our estimation, these ranges are too low, and we need a commission that has that view and makes the changes that are needed," Graves told WUSA9.
The DC Sentencing Commission is composed of 12 voting members and five non-voting members. Of the 17 commissioners, at least one seat is appointed by the Mayor, the DC Council, and the Chief Judge of the Superior Court. The other five non-voting members include appointed leaders of the D.C. police, Federal Bureau of Prisons and U.S. Parole Commission, as well as a person appointed by the D.C. Department of Corrections.
DC Council Chairman Phil Mendelson doubled down on his nomination calling Castón "well regarded" and telling reporters during a Monday morning briefing that that the commission recommended that they select a returning citizen.
"The commission has guidelines for the purpose of consistency, it doesn't actually set the sentences," Mendelson said as he downplayed the agency's role in the criminal justice system.
Mendelson said that suggesting that the District's current crime is the result of the sentencing guidelines was misguided. He also took aim at Graves' letter.
"Don't criticize that there are too few ten-plus-year convictions or sentences when you are the one that is negotiating these plea deals," he said.
If confirmed Castón would serve a three-year term.
In 2021 Castón made history becoming the first incarcerated person to win an elected office in the District as Ward 7 ANC Commissioner. According to court papers, Castón was 18 when he killed Rafiq Washington, 18, in Anacostia in 1994. He was convicted by a jury in 1996.
During a 2022 interview with WUSA9's Lorenzo Hall, Castón said, "Here I am now, as a middle-aged man, very cognizant of the bad decisions I made in the past. Very grateful that by the grace of God, I have been redeemed and I do have a completely different outlook on life."
We reached out to the nominee for comment but did not receive a response.
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