A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a minimum 5year federal prisonsentence, while distribution of 500 grams of powder cocaine carries the same 5year mandatory minimum sentence. Supreme court weighs whether law reducing crack cocaine. Origins of federal cocaine sentencing policy crack cocaine became prevalent in the 1980s and received extensive media attention, due in part to its exponential growth in the drug market. Crack first saw widespread use as a recreational drug in primarily impoverished neighborhoods in new york city, philadelphia, baltimore, washington, d. The fair sentencing act helps defendants in three ways. Despite these differences, both drugs can have devastating effects on a persons health. It is all too common these days to listen to news commentators discussing the disparity between federal sentencing guidelines for crack cocaine and powder cocaine.
Furthermore, this law doesnt even go all the way in eliminating the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. S house of representatives passed legislation to reduce the sentencing disparity between federal crack. Obama expected to ease crackcocaine sentencing disparities. President obama signed a new law tuesday that closes a decadesold gap in federal sentencing that led to much stiffer penalties for crack cocaine cases than ones involving powder cocaine. Seeking rehab for cocaine or crack addiction is an important step toward achieving sobriety. Crack powder cocaine sentencing disparity changed in 2010. Crackpowder cocaine sentencing disparity changed in 2010.
A 2010 federal law rectified some, though not all, of the sentencing disparities. The drug causes short but intense euphoric effects. Crack cocaine sentences were more severe than those in powder cocaine cases. Under the 2010 law, the amount of crack that triggers the fiveyear minimum is 28 grams of crack or 500 grams of powder, and, for the tenyear minimum, 280 grams of crack and 5,000 of powder. Under federal sentencing guidelines, a smalltime crack retailer caught selling 5 grams of crackcocaine receives the same prison sentence as a largescale powder cocaine dealer convicted of distributing 500g rams of powder cocaine. For reasons beyond the scope of this posting, certain stakeholders view this disparity as the product of systemic racism. Aug 03, 2010 president obama signed a new law that will close the longdisputed 100. Regardless of changes in the federal law, a charge of crack or powder cocaine is a very serious charge. Crack, which is derived from powdered cocaine, is a rocklike form of cocaine that can be smoked to achieve a high. Falsely treating crack cocaine as 50 times more addictive than powder cocaine, as congress did more than in creating the 100toone quantity ratio, has implications beyond that of mere unfair sentencing.
Obama commutes sentences for 8 in crack cocaine cases. Disparity in sentencing for crack vs powder cocaine essay. Crack is cheaper, so its found in low income communities more than pure powder cocaine. In 1995 the commission concluded that the violence associated with. Federal sentencing guidelines in similar drug cases have changed, in particular to end disparities in how the courts treat crack cocaine vs. Why not go all the way and set sentences for the two forms of cocaine at a 1. Cocaine is generally found in white powder form, and crack is found in a rock form that is generally white, cream, tan, or light brown. Download page term paper on disparity in sentencing for crack vs. Regardless of changes in the federal law, a charge of.
We wrote this paper to inform the public and congress about the disparities in the sentencing laws between crack and powder cocaine, which. Because crack and powder cocaine are two forms of the same drug, there should not be any disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine offenses the only truly fair ratio is 1. Federal sentencing guidelines disparity in crack versus. Since the law went into effect, the ratio dropped to 18to1. He was convicted at a time when crack cocaine offenses were handled far more harshly than those involving powder cocaine. First, it amended the drug quantity table in the federal sentencing guidelines, reducing the sentencing ranges in crack cases. The punishment difference between crackcocaine and powdercocaine. Chief among these is the racial outcome of the sentencing disparity. Before this law was passed, the united states had a 100to1 cracktopowder cocaine sentencing disparity.
So, the federal law still imposes a different and harsher sentence for crack cocaine possession than it does for powder cocaine possession, but the disparity is not nearly as great as under the 1986 act. Crack and powder cocaine sentences may equalize law blog. Aug 03, 2010 data show racial disparity in crack sentencing. Under the current law, crack users possessing only 5 grams of the drug are charged with a felony to get the same charge, powder cocaine users have to be caught with 500 grams. The new law significantly reduces the cocaine sentencing quantity disparity from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1 by raising the quantity of crack cocaine necessary to trigger the five and tenyear mandatory minimum sentences first set in 1986. The figures for the 6,020 powder cocaine cases are far less skewed. Crack and cocaine are both drugs created from the coca plant but have a different level of refinement. The fair sentencing act changed a regime that essentially treated one gram of crack cocaine as the equivalent of 100 grams of powder cocaine. The group in studies of sentencing practices has referred to crack cocaine mandates as a poster child for the injustices of mandatory sentencing. Cocaine is typically snorted, and crack is typically smoked. Powder and crack cocaine differ in appearance, side effects, duration of effects, demographics and incarceration rates. President obama signed a new law that will close the longdisputed 100. Apr 17, 2020 download page term paper on disparity in sentencing for crack vs. Another difference between crack and cocaine relates to the high produced.
New drug law narrows crack, powder cocaine sentencing gap. Crack cocaine, also known simply as crack or rock, is a free base form of cocaine that can be smoked. Why are crack cocaine sentences longer than those for. In 2010, congress passed the fair sentencing act fsa, which reduced the sentencing disparity between offenses for crack and powder cocaine from 100. The demographic profile of cocaine offenders must be further examined to analyze any disparity in sentencing. Second, it increased the amount of crack cocaine necessary to trigger mandatory minimums. Grassleys sentencing reform and corrections act to the prison reform legislation that has already passed the house. How a first crack cocaine offense led to a life sentence. The legislation also eliminates the mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine. In response, the antidrug abuse act of 1986 included a provision that created the disparity between federal penalties for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses, imposing the same penalties for the possession of an amount of crack cocaine as for 100 times the same amount of powder cocaine. What is the chemical difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine that justified this disparity. The manual of adolescent substance abuse treatment calls it the most addictive form of cocaine.
The us sentencing commission provided this analogy in 1997 to support equalizing penalties for crack and powder cocaine. The sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine attn. Powder cocaine use is more evenly spread among ethnic backgrounds, and more white americans have tried powder cocaine than black americans. At the time, possession of crack cocaine resulted in penalties 100 times higher than possession of an equal amount of the powdered form. Now that disparity is being reduced from 100to1 to 18to1. This disparity between crack and powder cocaine was driven by fear. Cracking the racial disparity for cocaine sentencing center. Fair sentencing act american civil liberties union. Keith ellison spent 16 years as a trial lawyer dealing with hundreds of cases involving cocaine arrests. To understand sentencing disparities, it helps to understand mandatory minimums sentences.
The commission establishes sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts. Crack cocaine often nicknamed crack after the sound made during its manufacture is a lowerpurity form of freebase cocaine and contains sodium bicarbonate as impurity. Dec 20, 20 obama commutes sentences for 8 in crack cocaine cases. The most viable option currently in reforming the crack cocaine versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity comes in attaching the provision from sen. The disparity started in the 1980s, when crack cocaine started to ravish urban black communities in america. Obama commutes sentences for 8 in crack cocaine cases the. Unjustified and unreasonable overview crack cocaine became prevalent in the mid1980s and received massive media attention due in part to the death of college basketball star len bias subsequently found to have used powder cocaine on the night of his death and not crack.
The fair sentencing act amends existing laws by increasing the amounts of crack that trigger these penalties, from five grams to 28 grams for fiveyear minimum sentences and from 50 grams to 280 grams for tenyear minimum sentences. Obama expected to ease crackcocaine sentencing disparities thursday, the u. Jul 15, 2015 federal sentencing guidelines in similar drug cases have changed, in particular to end disparities in how the courts treat crack cocaine vs. Race and class penalties in crack cocaine sentencing by michael coyle overview after a decade of contentious debate regarding the federal sentencing disparities between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, a number of significant initiatives to reform current policy. What is the chemical difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine that. Under the old sentencing guidelines, the penalty for possessing a gram of crack cocaine was the same as that for possessing 100 grams or about 312 ounces of powder cocaine, with a corresponding. On august 3, 2010, president barack obama signed an historic piece of legislation that narrows the crack and powder cocaine sentencing disparity from 100. After president obama signed off on new legislation to reduce the sentencing disparity between people caught with crack cocaine and those caught with powder cocaine, the minnesota democrat spoke to huffpost about what it all means. Cocaine is derived from the coca plant, which is indigenous to south america. As stated in the us federal court of appeals case, united states v. That resulted in a disparity with powder of about 18 to 1. Federal crack cocaine sentencing the sentencing project. Crack cocaine sentencing laws in the adaa also included a fiveyear mandatory.
Feb 19, 2015 in light of the current sentencing disparity18. Aug 03, 2010 crack cocaine sentences were more severe than those in powder cocaine cases. Data show racial disparity in crack sentencing us news. For example, the sentencing guidelines prescribe the same sentence for a defendant convicted of dealing 500 grams of powder. The disparity is highly controversial and often attributed to racial and economic bias rather than the relative harm of crack versus cocaine. A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a minimum 5year federal prisonsentence, while cracks in the system. Crack cocaine sentences have long been much more harsh than those for powder cocaine. In the 1980s, crack use created an epidemic that affected thousands of people in poor urban communities in the united states. Congress narrows disparity between sentences for crack vs. A push to shrink the disparity in punishments got a boost last month when reduced federal sentencing. But in reality, according to experts, crack cocaine and powder cocaine are essentially identical. Crack is made when cocaine hydrochloride powder is dissolved in water then mixed with. Why are crack cocaine sentences longer than those for powder. Whereas, proposals to remove the federal mandatory minimums for crack and powder cocaine, and to otherwise eliminate the disparity for crack and powder cocaine by sentencing crack in the same manner that powder cocaine is currently sentenced, would threaten efforts to investigate and prosecute significant and violent drug offenders that deal.
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