A ray of hope for crack defendants
Posted by: Gerald Smith
June 17, 2009
Topic: News and Commentary
For two decades, individual criminal defense attorneys, professional organizations such as the National Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys (NACDL), and lay organizations such as Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) and the Sentencing Project have fought to correct the injustices involved in the 100:1 penalty scheme that applies to cocaine base (crack) compared to powder cocaine. Under both the statutory minimum sentences and the sentencing guidelines, a person convicted federally for an offense involving a given quantity of crack would be sentenced the same as if he or she had been convicted for 100 times that quantity of powder cocaine.
The myths and factual distortions that were the foundation of this disparity have long been debunked, but the law has remained unchanged. The tragedy has been that a generation of young people, predominately African American, have received unnecessary sentences that have done little to solve any drug problem the country faces and even less to address the individual needs of the defendants involved. Arguments aimed at equal protection, Eighth Amendment issues, and common sense have gone unheeded.
The federal sentencing guidelines have undergone recent revisions recently that have lessened the impact somewhat. Additionally, now that the guidelines are advisory, judges have exercised more discretion in sentencing below the guideline ranges. In the larger framework, however, these changes have done little to alleviate the injustice.
There appears, however, to be some hope on the horizon. The Obama administration, according to an April 29, 2009, announcement by Larry Breur, the chief of the criminal division of the Department of Justice, will support legislation aimed at equalizing punishment for cocaine in any form. President Obama had pledged to do so in his campaign.
Such legislation will undoubtedly face stiff opposition and, in any event, will take some time to come to fruition. Whether changes will benefit those currently incarcerated is not clear and certainly the damage that has been done to thousands of defendants and the country as a whole cannot be undone. Nonetheless, the announcement does provide some hope, not only in the area of crack cocaine, but also for a reasonable reassessment of the entire mandatory minimum sentencing scheme.
More information and reaction to the announcement can be found at:
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A ray of hope for crack defendants
