The Crack the Disparity Coalition has published the fall edition of its quarterly newsletter. Offering insight and updates on the push toward legislative reform of the crack cocaine sentencing disparity, articles in this edition highlight the upcoming Dec. 2 call-in day, review legislation introduced in the House and Senate, and feature advocacy efforts and support from the Administration and conservatives.

This newsletter is designed to keep advocates updated on news and events related to eliminating the crack cocaine disparity and the harsh mandatory minimums for low-level crack cocaine offenses. It can be accessed at www.crackthedisparity.com where additional advocacy resources and information can be found.

On November 16, The Sentencing Project and the National Alliance to End Homelessness organized a Congressional briefing, hosted by Senator Benjamin Cardin (D- Md.) on Capitol Hill.  The briefing, intended to raise awareness of the importance of supporting youth in their transition from incarceration back to the community, was attended by more than 100 Hill staff members, advocates, and practitioners.  A new report, co-authored by Ashley Nellis of The Sentencing Project, was also released.

"The November 9 Supreme Court arguments on whether it is cruel and unusual to impose life in prison without parole on violent juveniles who have not killed anybody understandably got prominent media coverage," a National Journal column reports.

"But a far more important imprisonment story gets less attention because it's a running sore that rarely generates dramatic "news." That is our criminal-justice system's incarceration of a staggering 2.3 million people, about half of them for nonviolent crimes, including most of the 500,000 locked up for drug offenses."

Sen. Benjamin Cardin will host a congressional briefing entitled, "Back on Track: Supporting Youth Reentry from Out-of-Home Placement to the Community" Monday, November 16, 2009 from 12:00 pm to 1:30 pm in the Senate Hart Office Building, Room 902. The briefing has been organized by the Youth Reentry Task Force, the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Coalition, National Alliance to End Homelessness and The Sentencing Project.

"Congress has ordered the panel that advises judges on prison terms to conduct a review of mandatory-minimum sentences, a move that could lead to a dramatic rethinking of how the U.S. incarcerates its criminals," the Wall Street Journal reported.

"The review is a little-noticed element of the National Defense Authorization Act signed into law last month by President Barack Obama. The defense-spending bill calls on the commission to perform several tasks, including an examination of the impact of mandatory-minimum sentencing laws and alternatives to the practice."