Today’s Good News: New Sentencing Guidelines Set Crack Offenders Free
You’ve probably heard about the 100 to 1 disparity between Federal prison sentences awarded for crack vs. powder cocaine possession. Effective Monday, the U.S. Sentencing Commission officially changed its tune, saying that the disparity was unfair because the two drugs are virtually the same, among other reasons. The first of those unfairly held are now going free.
This has long been one of the most Kafkaesque features of our justice system. The guidelines have meant more blacks go to prison, and have to stay longer than whites. The Washington Post noted the effect of the rule change (see full story here).
The Bush administration, naturally, opposed the decision. Our new AG Mukasey feared that crack offenders would “clog the courts with petitions requesting a release” (imagine, clogging the courts with people seeking justice) and that “violent criminals” would eventually be returned to the streets. They asked Congress to block the decision, but Congress said no.
The commission says more than 3,000 people will now be eligible for release this year. According to Families Against Mandatory Minimums, at least 4 people were set free in Florida and California, and 1 in Virginia, which houses the largest number of affected inmates.
The International Narcotics Control Board called today for more “proportionality” in the way some governments prosecute drug offenders, and noted that “other countries draw sharper lines between drug use, and drug trafficking and sales.”
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