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10:53 PM
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On Wednesday, the House voted to reduce the disparity in the sentencing of people caught with crack cocaine vs. powder cocaine. Before, in order to be charged with a felony, crack users need to posses 5 grams of crack, powder cocaine users needed to be caught with 500 grams. This 100-to-1 disparity has been a frequent means for debate over the last several years.
In order to be charged with a felony under the new law, a user must posses a minimum of 28 grams of crack cocaine. This greatly narrows the disparity gap from 100-1 to 18-1. In March, the Senate approved the legislation to reduce this disparity. President Obama is expected to sign the legislation, having expressed opposition to disparity in the past. The measure changes the previous law of 1986, which was enacted at a time when crack cocaine use was rampant and considered an extremely violent drug.
The bill also eliminates the five-year mandatory minimum for first-time possession of crack. This is the first time since the Nixon administration Congress has repealed a mandatory minimum sentence. The Congressional Budget Office claims the bill will save the government $42 million over five years due to reduction in the prison population.
Because the mandatory penalties were so harsh, many non-violent addicted drug users were being hit with long prison sentences, rivaling those of highly violent repeat criminals. Many also believe that nothing symbolizes the conflicted state of U.S. race relations more than the tortured odyssey of crack cocaine. Although surveys show that most users of cocaine, in all of its forms are white, African Americans and Latinos account for 96 percent of crack convictions. The passing of this new law has been hailed as a victory by many activist groups who have been speaking out against the law since it's first inception during the Reagan administration.
Fixing Crack Disparity
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