From Families Against Mandatory Minimums:
One more piece of the crack cocaine puzzle fell into place today when 10 senators introduced a bill to make crack cocaine penalties the same as those for powder cocaine. The picture is now nearly complete – the White House and the Department of Justice have endorsed the complete elimination of the cocaine sentencing disparity, the Sentencing Commission has found the disparity unreasonable, and the House of Representatives and now the Senate have introduced legislation that would equalize crack and powder cocaine penalties.
“No institution stands in the way of crack cocaine changes,” said Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) president Julie Stewart. “Every piece is in place to make this decades-past-due reform a reality.”
Last week, Senator Dick Durbin introduced a bill to reduce the mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine use/distribution to the same levels as powder cocaine. You can read the bill here (pdf). Other sponsors include Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), Senate Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs Chairman Arlen Specter (D-Penn.), and Senators Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), Ben Cardin (D-Md.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-Rhode Island), Ted Kaufman (D-Del.), Chris Dodd (D-Conn.), John Kerry (D-Mass.), and Al Franken (D-Minn.). And may I just say right here how incredibly proud I am to finally be represented by Senator Al Franken!!!!!
As reported by the Washington Post:
Under current law, it takes 100 times as much powdered cocaine as crack to trigger the same mandatory minimum sentence. Activists say that disparity disproportionately impacts African Americans.<...>
Today's sentencing ratio has been in place since 1986, a time when crack cocaine was ravaging inner-city neighborhoods. Academic research has since cast doubt on the assertion that rock cocaine is more addictive and dangerous than the powder.<...>
Jasmine L. Tyler, deputy director of national affairs for the Drug Policy Alliance Network, urged Congress to move quickly, saying "23 years is too long to wait for justice to be served."
Yes, 23 years is too long to wait. And the lives that have been wasted in the meantime are too great a price to pay. If you'd like a personal look at how this unjust policy has affected the life of just one man, please go read Tony Ealy's story at FAMM. He's currently serving 33-110 years for three counts as a first offense.
At issue with the current bills is whether or not to make this change retroactive for folks like Tony who have been victims of this injustice. I join with FAMM is urging Congress to do so.
As welcome as this news is, I also join with Vincent Lewis in seeing it as a beginning of reform...not the end.
I certainly hope to see this law changed, but I don’t want us to lose sight of the deeper issues here. We have a cultural disconnect that cannot be ignored. Justice in American is not blind and she sees color.
The system targets young black males no matter what the laws are and we need to acknowledge this fact. If we do this then we can address real issues no matter how uncomfortable the process may be for some.
In addition, to our cultural challenges, America must overhaul its criminal justice philosophy to reflect that of a civilized society.
This will require us to see rehabilitation and treatment as a first approach to dealing with crime, versus punishment and isolation.