Remember when Attorney General Eric Holder said that we can’t just "incarcerate out way to becoming a safer nation"? Well, he’s got some interesting backup. 

Before Holder made his formal announcement, the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) board approved mock legislation that allows judges discretion for otherwise mandatory minimum sentences. Now, correctional officers want minimum sentencing reform, too. 

The American Correctional Association–which, according to its website, "is the oldest and largest international correctional association in the world"–passed a motion supporting mandatory minimum sentencing reform. The resolution reads, in part:

"[T]he use of statutory "safety valves" helps to reduce both prison and jail crowding and corrections costs, in turn making prisons safer and more rehabilitative, preserving limited resources for the most violent and dangerous offenders, and ensuring continued funding of other important law enforcement and crime reduction programs."

The resolution doesn’t point out, however, how "violent and dangerous offenders" are defined–and there’s no indication that any conservative groups are moving toward abolishing prisons any time soon. 

(h/t ThinkProgress)