http://www.drugpolicy.org/docUploads/AftertheRockefellerDrugLawsFeb_2010.pdf
I DO NOT CONDONE ILLEGAL DRUG SALES, but there has been such a disparity in the sentencing laws concerning cocaine and crack. I'm old enough to remember the Rockerfeller Laws of the '70's when it was passed in New York. I wonder how many thousands of young, mostly African Americans were and are still in jail because of this major imbalance in the criminal justice system. Lives that will never be the same.There will now be a better balance for justice across the board as opposed to the imbalances that have lingered for so long.
In Speaker Pelosi's words, "Under current federal law, possessing five grams of crack cocaine is subject to the same mandatory minimum sentence as selling 500 grams of powder cocaine. This creates a 100:1 crack-powder sentencing disparity! Today, the President signed a bill the House passed last week, the Fair Sentencing Act–long overdue legislation that addresses this disparity in favor of fairness and justice for the American people. The bill reduces the sentences for crack and powder cocaine, eliminates the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine, and includes tough new criminal penalties targeting the serious drug offenders who bring the most destruction to our families and our neighborhoods. It strengthens the hand of law enforcement while bringing greater balance to our sentencing and criminal justice system. That’s why it won the support of both Democrats and Republicans, it was even co-sponsored by conservative Senators Sessions and Coburn. And that’s why it has the backing of law enforcement, prosecutors and judges, civil rights organizations, and faith leaders."
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