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November 20, 2009
(The Sentencing Project)
Help Ensure Fairness in Drug SentencingCongress is poised to finally pass changes that will correct the unfair punishment for low-level crack cocaine offenses. In July 2009, the House Judiciary Committee endorsed legislation to eliminate the distinction between crack cocaine and powder cocaine and, therefore, eliminate the sentencing disparity and the mandatory minimum sentences for low-level crack cocaine offenses. Similar legislation in the Senate has also been introduced. In order to move these bills forward we need the help of advocates and supporters around the country. The federal mandatory minimum sentences for possession and distribution of small quantities of crack cocaine originated in the 1980s when little was known about crack as a new form of cocaine. Misinformation and myths scared the public and members of Congress into believing that crack was drastically more dangerous than powder cocaine or any other drug. After 23 years of research and numerous studies, we know there is no justification for the harsh penalties imposed on individuals convicted for possessing five grams of crack cocaine when it would take 500 grams to trigger the same punishment if the cocaine had been in the form of powder rather than crack. Use the talking points and sample letter below to persuade your Senators and Representative to endorse a system of justice where all individuals are treated equally and where laws do not single out groups for different treatment. · [For U.S. Representatives] Please support and co-sponsor H.R. 3245, the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2009. · [For U.S. Senators] Please support and co-sponsor S. 1789, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2009. · Restore federal law enforcement priorities. When Congress passed the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 and 1988, the intended targets of mandatory minimums were “serious” and “major” traffickers. In practice, the law failed to live up to its promise. Mandatory penalties for crack cocaine offenses have been applied most often to individuals who are low-level participants in the drug trade, who comprise more than two-thirds of federal crack defendants. · Save federal tax dollars and ease prison overcrowding. The Federal Bureau of Prisons estimates it costs $25,895 a year to house each prisoner. According to the U.S. Sentencing Commission, eliminating the sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine would reduce the prison population by over 13,000 in 10 years. · Counter the perception of unfairness in the criminal justice system. African Americans account for 81.8% of defendants sentenced to federal prison for crack cocaine offenses. Crack cocaine sentences average 37 months longer than sentences for powder cocaine. This disparity has contributed to a damaging perception of race-based unfairness in our criminal justice system. · Treat two like drugs the same. Crack cocaine is pharmacologically the same as powder cocaine. Myths about crack cocaine, that have been dispelled since the sentencing law was passed 23 years ago, contributed to these out of proportion penalties.
Dear Representative [or Senator]: I am writing to express my concern about federal sentencing policy that mandates excessive penalties for low-level drug offenses. The Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act, H.R. 3245 [Insert “The Fair Sentencing Act, S. 1789” for Senate outreach] seeks to address this problem by eliminating the controversial sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. I urge you to support and co-sponsor this legislation. I believe in a system of justice where all individuals are treated equally and where laws do not single out groups for disparate treatment. However, the 1986 and 1988 Anti-Drug Abuse Acts established harsh and excessive penalties for crack cocaine compared to powder cocaine based largely on claims about the drugs that we now know to be unsupported by modern scientific research. Despite the overwhelming evidence, over 23 years later this law remains unchanged. Current federal policy maintains a 100 to 1 quantity-based sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. This means that possessing just 5 grams of crack cocaine (10 to 50 doses) results in the same five year mandatory minimum prison sentence as selling 500 grams of powder cocaine (2,500 to 5,000 doses). In 1996 the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the physiological and psychoactive effects of crack and powder cocaine are essentially indistinguishable. Since 1995, the US Sentencing Commission has been calling for a sentencing system that is more just and practical, but Congress has failed to act. The small quantities (5 grams and 50 grams) of crack cocaine that trigger excessive mandatory minimum sentences have misdirected federal resources towards prosecution of low-level offenses, making more difficult the pursuit of the importers and international traffickers who bring drugs into the country. Perhaps most troubling is the significant racial disparity that exists in cases involving crack cocaine. African Americans comprise 81.8% of the defendants sentenced to federal prison for crack cocaine offenses, even though two-thirds of crack cocaine users are white or Hispanic. African Americans serve virtually as much time in federal prison for a drug offense (58.7 months) as whites do for a violent offense (61.7 months). I believe that unequal sentencing for crack and powder cocaine is unjustifiable and not supported by research. Congress must now act to eliminate the statutory 100 to 1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. I urge you to support and cosponsor the Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act [Insert “Fair Sentencing Act” for Senate outreach]. Sincerely,
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