Change comes to medical marijuana raids and to the federal death penalty

I have been awaiting not too patiently for all the hope and change that was promised by the new administration to find its way to the federal criminal justice system.  In recent days, Attorney General Eric Holder has started walking the walk rather than just talking the talk:

1.  As detailed in this MSNBC piece, late last week AG Holder officially stated that the Drug Enforcement Administration would end federal raids on state-approved medical marijuana dispensaries.  This is big news for supporters of medical marijuana, and could be the first step toward a strategic withdrawl from the worst battlefields in the war on drugs.

2.  As detailed in this new piece from The Recorder, just today AG Holder “has authorized a deal that could abruptly end a rare San Francisco death penalty trial only days after it began.”  The piece rights notes the broad implications of this decision: “Not only does Holder’s reversal likely spare defendant Emile Fort his life, but it may signal a less aggressive approach to the death penalty in federal court.”