Topic: Sentencing Guidelines

The Department of Justice is increasingly using RICO (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) charges to secure longer sentences for individuals involved in online predatory networks. Senator Dick Durbin recently proposed legislation to increase sentencing guidelines for these crimes. However, the bill faced procedural hurdles in the Senate regarding unanimous consent and legislative debate.

Derek Sharif, a destitute man living in Illinois, was targeted by an informant who provided him with food and shelter before encouraging a plot to attack a shopping mall. Because Sharif had no money, the informant arranged for him to "trade" stereo speakers for grenades provided by an undercover agent. Sharif was convicted of conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction and sentenced to 25 years. This case illustrates how the FBI uses its own resources to place defendants under severe sentencing guidelines that they could never have reached on their own.