Disparity in sentencing for crack vs powder cocaine. The court will rule early next year in kimbrough v. So crack users can get much longer prison sentences than. In fact, the law probably made sense at the time, when a gram of crack did have far more devastating social costs than a gram of powder. New drug law narrows crack, powder cocaine sentencing gap.
In spite of arguments upholding sentencing differences between crack and powdercocaine, proponents against such disparities need only to. Thus, federal sentences for crack were constructed to relate to sentences for powder cocaine in a 100. In short, crack cocaine does the same thing to the brain as powder cocaine. Mandatory minimum sentencing policies and cocaine use in the u. Why the difference between crack and cocaine sentences. Data show racial disparity in crack sentencing us news. We wrote this paper to inform the public and congress about the disparities in the sentencing laws between crack and powder cocaine, which. Crack and cocaine powder sentencing disparities essay sample. There is actually a bill right now,trying to stop differentiating between crack and powder. Assistant majority leader dick durbin dil introduced the fair sentencing act of 2009, a narrowlytailored bill that would eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and increase penalties for the worst offenders.
In 2010, there was bipartisan support in congress for reducing the disparity in sentences between crack and powder cocaine, against a backdrop of. Before this law was passed, the united states had a 100to1 cracktopowder cocaine sentencing disparity. Crack cocaine sentences have long been much more harsh than those for powder cocaine. Shorter crack sentences to be retroactive cbs news. Established by the antidrug abuse acts of 1986 and 1988, the 100to1 ratio relates to the amount of crack versus powder cocaine necessary to trigger mandatory minimum prison sentences meaning that possession of five grams of crack cocaine would mandate the same minimum sentence as 500 grams of powder cocaine. For mere possession of powder cocaine, there is no mandatory. The bill has passed the state senate and is currently in the state. It reduced that ratio to about 1 to 18 and thus raised the possession amount of crack cocaine necessary to trigger mandatory sentences. The excessively harsh sentencing laws for crack cocaine versus for. Download 32page term paper on sentencing disparities between crack cocaine vs. In austin today, a federal judge sentenced 17 individuals, including ringleader horace lee caruther, for their alleged roles in a narcotics distribution ring operating in and around the taylor, tx, area announced u. Sentencing commission held a public meeting on lowering crack cocaine sentencing guidelines. Cocaine is a central nervous system stimulant drug processed from plants that are indigenous to south america. Sentencing commission voted unanimously tuesday to allow some 19,500 federal prison inmates, most of them black, to seek reductions in their crack cocaine sentences.
The new law significantly reduces the cocaine sentencing quantity disparity from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1 by raising the quantity of crack cocaine necessary to trigger the five and tenyear mandatory minimum sentences first set in 1986. Sentencing commission an independent federal agency that advises all three branches of government on sentences recently cut the gap. Whites and hispanics each make up a more equal, or greater, percentage of the federal sentences being. For over 25 years, many politicians, including the late senator ted kennedy, fought to redress the imbalance between federally mandated sentences for possession of crack cocaine and the powder form of the drug. Before this law was passed, the united states had a 100to1 cracktopowder cocaine sentencing. Crack and powder cocaine sentences may equalize law blog. Congress drug mandatory minimum sentences in 2010, the u. Download page term paper on disparity in sentencing for crack vs. In 2010 congress passed the fair sentencing act, which repealed the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession and reduced the sentencing disparity from 100. The legislation also eliminates the mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine. Africanamericans now serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense 58. The 1986 antidrug abuse act mandated a minimum sentence of five years without parole for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine while it mandated the same penalty for possession of.
As introduced, the fair sentencing acts provisions would have completely eliminated the sentencing disparity between crack and powder. Crack, which is derived from powdered cocaine, is a rocklike form of cocaine that can be smoked to achieve a high. Since the law went into effect, the ratio dropped to 18to1. Its chemical name benzoylmethylecgonine, cocaine has a welldeserved reputation as a serious drug of abuse. Why are crack cocaine sentences longer than those for. A federal judge postponed the sentencing of five young gang members wednesday and ordered a hearing on their lawyers claim that long, mandatory sentences for selling crack cocaine are racially. There is no significant chemical differencecrack and powder cocaine are both forms of cocaine. Despite the fact that more than 66 percent of crack cocaine users are white or hispanic, almost 85 percent of those serving federal sentences for crack cocaine are african american. Data show racial disparity in crack sentencing congress passed the fair sentencing act to make punishments for crack and cocaine more equal.
The amount of powder cocaine necessary to trigger the sentence is still five kilos. Congress passed historic, bipartisan legislation repealing a mandatory minimum sentence for the first time since the nixon administration and reforming the infamous 100toone ratio between powder cocaine and crack cocaine. Obama commutes sentences for 8 in crack cocaine cases. The sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine attn. After a decade of contentious debate regarding the federal sentencing disparities between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, a number of significant initiatives to reform current. For her final paper, byrd wanted to write about the disparity between crackcocaine and powdercocaine sentences and the disparate effect on african americans and. In december 2007, the supreme court ruled that federal judges could impose shorter sentences for crack cocaine cases, making them more in line with those for powder cocaine.
Hopefully this new bill will pass,then it will even out. Yale university school of medicine new haven, conn. In the 1980s, crack use created an epidemic that affected thousands of people in poor urban communities in the united states. For powder cocaine sentences, this disparity does not exist. Crack vs inhaled cocaine and sentencing jama network. Right now anybody convicted of crack rock,they get harsher sentences than somebody convicted of powder. Seeking rehab for cocaine or crack addiction is an important step toward achieving sobriety. Federal prison sentences handed down for crack cocaine and methamphetamine trafficking operation in and around taylor, tx. A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a minimum 5year federal prisonsentence, while distribution of 500 grams of powder cocaine carries the same 5year mandatory minimum sentence. The disparity between crack sentences and sentences for powdered cocaine has existed since the reagan era, when the united states experienced a supposed epidemic of crack addiction an epidemic that was exaggerated by the media.
Criticism of crack cocaine sentences is not what it is cracked up to be. Supreme court weighs whether law reducing crack cocaine. The commission reported in 2004 that revising the crack cocaine thresholds would better reduce the sentencing gap than any other single policy change, and it would dramatically improve the fairness of the federal sentencing. A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a. Criticism of crack cocaine sentences is not what it is. The result is that while a conviction for the sale of 500 grams of powder cocaine triggers a 5year mandatory sentence, only 5 grams of crack cocaine are required to trigger the same 5year mandatory sentence. Sentencing commissions latest report to congress on cocaine sentencing can be found at the commissions website, under report to congress federal cocaine sentencing policy. Crack and cocaine powder sentencing disparities essay. New rules slashing crack cocaine sentences go into effect. Many inmates are being released starting tuesday, thanks to changes easing the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences. Crack and cocaine may be nearly identical on a molecular level, but people who are charged with possession of just 1 gram of crack are given the same sentence as those found in possession of 18. The federal government sought to crack down on the problem by implementing severe prison sentences for those people caught dealing crack cocaine.
Under the law, possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine incurred the same minimum sentence as 500 grams of powder cocaine a 100 to 1 quantity disparity that remained in. The disparity started in the 1980s, when crack cocaine started to ravish urban black communities in america. Congress passed the fair sentencing act to make punishments for crack and cocaine more equal. Federal prison sentences handed down for crack cocaine. The drug causes short but intense euphoric effects. So, the federal law still imposes a different and harsher sentence for crack cocaine possession than it does for powder cocaine possession, but the disparity is not nearly.
Despite harsher penalties for crack versus powder cocaine, crack use declined less than powder cocaine and even less than drugs not. Holly mitchells senate bill 1010, which would reduce the sentence for possession of crack cocaine for sale from 35 years to 24 years, thus matching the penalties for powder cocaine and equalizing eligibility for probation. The 2010 act changed the ratio of crack to powder cocaine for purposes of imposing the same sentence for possession of each form of the drug from 100toone to 18toone. Now, the ten year sentence is triggered by 280 grams of crack instead of 50. This disparity between crack and powder cocaine was driven by fear. Sentencing commission will hold a tuesday hearing on capitol hill to discuss revamping tough policies for. Federal crack cocaine sentencing the sentencing project. A couple of years ago, we wrote a column about crack cocaine, which ended with a discussion of the federal sentencing guidelines for crack vs. It recommends that congress alter the 100to1 cracktopowder ratio, but, in the meantime, proposes a reduction in the sentencing guideline range for cocaine offenses. Crack cocaines lower price, ease of production, and manner of distribution small quantities sold to individuals for personal use was thought to have made it more accessible in poor, urban communities than. Therefore, it is ironic that no one became more identified with this fight than rap mogul russell simmons. The commission establishes sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts.
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