The 1986 law created a 100 to 1 disparity between the sentencing guidelines for crack and powder cocaine. Before this law was passed, the united states had a 100to1 crack topowder cocaine sentencing disparity. Douglas berman, law professor at ohio state university, talks with michele norris about how the disparity in sentencing minimums between crack and powdered cocaine. Activists argue that the current rules are too harsh. Feb 19, 2015 specifically, the penalty for possessing 500g of powder cocaine was comparable to possessing only 5g of crack. Holly mitchells senate bill 1010, which would reduce the sentence for possession of crack cocaine for sale from 35 years to 24 years, thus matching the penalties for powder. A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a. Dec 19, 20 president cites sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine new legislation has reduced sentencing disparities previously%2c obama had commuted only one sentence in the five years of.
Iowa during 2003, the iowa legislature lowered its sentencing disparity from. The us house of representatives approved a bill, sb 1789 on july 28. The sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine attn. Eliminate the crack versus cocaine sentencing disparity. This guide highlights the incredible breadth, depth and reliability of government information on this topic. Similarly, those carrying ten grams of crack cocaine. Specifically, the penalty for possessing 500g of powder cocaine was comparable to possessing only 5g of crack. Congress passed the fair sentencing act to make punishments for crack and cocaine more equal. Congress passed laws that created a 100 to 1 sentencing disparity for the possession or trafficking of crack when compared to penalties for trafficking of powder cocaine, which had been widely criticized as discriminatory against minorities, mostly africanamericans, who were more likely to use crack than powder cocaine. Congress is considering a bill to change drug laws that punish crack cocaine violations more severely than those for powder cocaine. 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. Powder cocaine 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 have recently emerged. The explosive popularity of crack cocaine was associated with its cheap price, which for the first time made cocaine available to a wider economic class. Crack and cocaine powder sentencing disparities essay.
This disparity between crack and powder cocaine was driven by fear, instead of by research, of the intensity and perceived dangers of crack cocaine. There are federal guidelines ensuring that people who get caught with crack are sentenced more harshly than those who are caught with. Crack cocaine first hit the national radar in 1986 but, contrary to media reports, it was not a new drug. The house of representatives passed a bill on wednesday that would reduce the disparities between mandatory federal sentences for crack and powder cocaine. Aug 04, 2010 until now, there was a sentencing disparity of 100. In 1995 the commission concluded that the violence associated with. Federal crack cocaine sentencing the sentencing project.
Since congress recognized the gaping racial disparity between mandatory minimum sentences for crack offenses and cocaine offenses and reduced the ratio from 100to1 to 18to1, courts have grappled with when and how to apply the statute to alreadydecided cases. For more information on federal laws on cocaine possession, see cocaine. The commission reported in 2004 that revising the crack cocaine thresholds would better reduce the sentencing gap than any other single policy change, and it would dramatically improve the fairness of the federal sentencing. Now, the ten year sentence is triggered by 280 grams of crack instead of 50.
The sentencing project cracked justice crack cocaine. Apr 17, 2020 download page term paper on disparity in sentencing for crack vs. This is often what people are referring to when they mention drug related sentencing disparities. Crack cocaine sentencing policy prison policy initiative. Disparity in sentencing for crack vs powder cocaine essay. In 2010, president obama signed the fair sentencing act, which reduced the federal penalty ratios from 100. Crack cocaine became prevalent in the mid1980s and received massive media attention due in part to its exponential growth in the drug market. The fair sentencing act was a step forward, but it did not finish the job. 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. Support fair and rational sentencing by eliminating the. Jul 01, 2014 in 2010, president obama signed the fair sentencing act, which reduced the federal penalty ratios from 100. In a statement in the congressional record, breaux said he was honestly shocked to learn of the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine.
The fair sentencing act of 2010 was an act of congress that was signed into federal law by u. This report addresses disparities in cocaine sentencing in states and documents efforts at the federal and state level to correct these injustices. Crack users were at a higher risk than powder cocaine users for reporting multiple recent arrests or a lifetime arrest. Disparity in sentencing for crack vs powder cocaine. In the mid 80s, congress passed the antidrug abuse act of 1986. The drug war drives racial disparities in the criminal justice system. Under what is commonly referred to as the 100to1 cocaine sentencing disparity, it takes one hundred times as much powder cocaine as crack cocaine to trigger the federal mandatory minimums. Misguided drug laws and draconian sentencing have produced profoundly unequal outcomes for communities of color. 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. Fair sentencing act american civil liberties union. 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.
This disparity has had a hugely unfair and racially discriminatory impact on minority americans. People of color experience discrimination at every stage of the criminal justice system and are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, convicted, harshly. Data show racial disparity in crack sentencing us news. Federal sentencing disparity, 20052012, examines patterns of federal sentencing disparity among white and black offenders, by sentence received, and looks at judicial variation in sentencing. The adaa created a 100toone ratio between the quantity of crack versus powder cocaine needed to trigger mandatory minimum sentencing. Today states maintain sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine offenses. Specifically, congress directed the sentencing commission to report on the current federal structure of. Supreme court ruled that the reductions in the fair sentencing act applied to at least those cases decided before. Download 32page term paper on sentencing disparities between crack cocaine vs. Human rights watch wrote the following letter expressing support of california state senate bill sb 1010 which would reduce the disparities in penalties between crack and powder cocaine. Aug 03, 2010 data show racial disparity in crack sentencing congress passed the fair sentencing act to make punishments for crack and cocaine more equal. It also brings crack sentencing in line with powder cocaine, as well as with all other drugs, by applying mandatory minimums only to dealers and not those convicted of simple possession.
Additionally, commissioners voted on provisions of the fair sentencing act, which recently reduced the disparities in penalties between powder and crack cocaine, for some prisoners already serving. Download page term paper on disparity in sentencing for crack vs. More than 80 percent of federal prisoners serving crack cocaine sentences are black. Cracking the racial disparity for cocaine sentencing center. The amount of powder cocaine necessary to trigger the sentence is still five kilos. 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. Data show racial disparity in crack sentencing congress passed the fair sentencing act to make punishments for crack and cocaine more equal. Regardless of changes in the federal law, a charge of crack or powder cocaine is a very serious charge. American drug laws make it pretty clear that our legal system thinks crack is extra whack. The fair sentencing act 2010 reduced sentencing disparities to 18. The 100to1 cocaine sentencing disparity remained the law of the land until 2010 with the passage of the fair sentencing act, which reduced the sentencing disparity between crack.
Before 1986, federal sentencing laws treated possession of crack and powder cocaine the same. Since the law went into effect, the ratio dropped to 18to1. Keith ellison spent 16 years as a trial lawyer dealing with hundreds of cases involving cocaine arrests. Sentencing commission to eliminate the disparities in federal sentencing for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. Assistant majority leader dick durbin dil introduced the fair sentencing act of 2009, a narrowlytailored bill that would eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and increase penalties for the worst offenders. Today, states maintain sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine offenses. The 100to1 crack cocaine to powder cocaine quantity ratio is a primary cause of the growing disparity between sentences for black and white federal defendants, the commission wrote.
President barack obama on august 3, 2010 that reduced the disparity between the amount of crack cocaine and powder cocaine needed to trigger certain federal criminal penalties from a 100. Congress directed the united states sentencing commission to study federal sentencing policy as it relates to possession and distribution of all forms of cocaine. Regardless of changes in the federal law, a charge of crack or powder cocaine. Cracking the racial disparity for cocaine sentencing. Despite the fact that the chemical structure of powder cocaine and crack cocaine is nearly identical, the punishment for crack possession or sales is far greater than that of cocaine. Regrettably, the majority opted instead to perpetuate these discriminatory laws by passing and reporting out h. The legislation also eliminates the mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine. Chief among these is the racial outcome of the sentencing disparity. It eliminates the disparity in federal sentencing for crack versus powder cocaine offenses, without a shift in the current powder cocaine penalty. Bookers bill would eliminate the crack cocaine sentencing disparity by reducing it from 18. The bill does not eliminate the disparity, but dramatically reduces it. The federal antidrug abuse act of 1986, part of the war on drugs, established a disparity between the amount of crack and powdered cocaine. What is crack cocaine differences between crack and cocaine. This is the united states sentencing commissions first report to congress on the subject of federal cocaine sentencing policy.
Jan 29, 2019 crack and power cocaine sentencing disparities. Crack cocaine disparity, the fair sentencing act 2010. How many states maintain sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine. Cocaine is a hydrochloride salt in its powdered form, while crack cocaine is derived from powdered cocaine by combining it with water and another substance, usually baking soda sodium bicarbonate. Clinton signs bill to disapprove of equalizing crack. In fiscal year 2010, before the passage of the fair sentencing act, almost 4,000 defendants, mainly black, received mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine. Bernie sanders called for the same in 2015, prompting his democratic presidential rival. After cocaine and baking soda are combined, the mixture is boiled, and a solid forms. Federal sentencing disparity, 20052012, examines patterns of federal sentencing disparity among white and black offenders, by sentence received, and looks at judicial variation in sentencing since booker vs. Obama commutes 8 crack cocaine sentences usa today.
A 2010 federal law rectified some, though not all, of the sentencing disparities. Feb 22, 2015 we wrote this paper to inform the public and congress about the disparities in the sentencing laws between crack and powder cocaine, which continue to have profound legal and social. Mar 31, 2020 sentencing disparities between crack cocaine vs. Jan 02, 2020 bookers bill would eliminate the crack cocaine sentencing disparity by reducing it from 18. Some 2020 democratic candidate argue that the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, which now sits at 18to1. 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. The answer to the problem presented by this wide difference in penalties is not to lower penalties for selling crack cocaine but to increase the penalties for selling powder cocaine, the. 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. 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.
The commission establishes sentencing policies and practices for the federal courts. Crack and cocaine powder sentencing disparities essay sample. But during negotiations it became clear that congress was in agreement. In missouri, where a defendant convicted of selling six grams of crack cocaine faces the same prison term a tenyear mandatory minimum as someone who sells 450 grams of powder cocaine, or 75 times that amount. In spite of arguments upholding sentencing differences between crack and powdercocaine, proponents against such disparities need only to. A 2015 study published in the journal drug and alcohol dependence examined the socioeconomic disparities among powder cocaine users and crack users. In 2010 congress passed the fair sentencing act, which repealed the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession and reduced the sentencing disparity from 100. Sentencing disparity primary sources topics in criminal. The general assembly eliminated the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine by increasing the trigger quantity for crack cocaine to onehalf ounce approximately 14. Africanamericans now serve virtually as much time in prison for a drug offense 58. As a result, the bill lessening the disparity to 18. For instance, there are federal guidelines ensuring that people who get caught with crack are sentenced more harshly than those who are caught with powder cocaine. Until 2010, this sentencing disparity was 100 to 1, which means that while just 5 grams of crack would carry a 5year mandatory minimum. Jul 28, 2019 the 100to1 crack cocaine to powder cocaine quantity ratio is a primary cause of the growing disparity between sentences for black and white federal defendants, the commission wrote.