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New Cocaine Sentencing Guidelines Take Effect: Some Prisoners Released

The U.S. Sentencing Commission's new guidelines correcting the 100-to-1 disparity between criminal sentences for crack cocaine versus powder cocaine possession took effect on March 3, and hundreds of court orders retroactively modifying drug crime prison terms have been issued nationwide.

Some 3,000 people serving time for possession of crack will thus be eligible for release this year, unless the Bush administration is successful in their bid to block the new guidelines' use. Several inmates were released this week.

Excessive Sentences for Nonviolent Offenders

The old guidelines had long been seen by criminal defense advocates as unduly harsh toward those convicted of crack offenses, because crack cocaine and powder cocaine are virtually the same drug, but the sentences for the two drugs differ greatly.

The harsh, long sentences meted out for crack possession have been the subject of numerous lawsuits, many of which noted that nearly 90% of crack-related sentences are for small-time offenders who have no history of violence.

The Sentencing Disparity

The sentencing disparity began with the 1986 Anti-Drug Abuse Act, which required judges to order a mandatory minimum sentence of at least 5 years for an individual convicted of possessing with intent to distribute 5 grams of crack, or 10 years for 50 grams (about the size of a candy bar).

In contrast, the Act and its successor deemed that for individuals convicted of possessing powder cocaine, a judge need not even impose any mandatory sentence unless it's for possessing with intent to distribute 100 times more powder.

The Sentences Were Based on False Assumptions

Although U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey said that "violent criminals" will be returned to the streets by the new guidelines, the U.S. Sentencing Commission was appointed by Congress, and it issued the revised guidelines after taking testimony from:

  • criminal justice organizations
  • prosecutors and defense attorneys
  • judges
  • physicians, and
  • academics

— who overwhelmingly contended that the existing crack cocaine sentences were based on false assumptions about the drug and have led to vastly unjust sentencing.

Charged with drug possession? Contact a criminal lawyer to discuss your case today.

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