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October 12, 2007
MA: Springfield Republican Editorial: Sentencing guidelines and drug disparities
Sentencing guidelines and drug disparities
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Springfield Republican Editorial
When a criminal defendant in a crack cocaine case appears in court, the judge is looking at someone who has gotten himself involved with a dangerous, debilitating and highly addictive drug.
When a criminal defendant in a powder cocaine case appears in court, the judge is looking at someone who has gotten himself involved with a dangerous, debilitating and highly addictive drug.
But there are differences. In the first case, someone convicted of possessing just 5 grams of crack cocaine could end up in jail for five years. But it would take 100 times that amount of cocaine in its powder form to result in the same five-year sentence.
And in the first example, the defendant is likely to be poor and black. Not so in example No. 2.
But there is another similarity in both cases: The judge cannot use his discretion. He is forced instead to rely on federal guidelines and to impose minimum mandatory sentences.
Legislation on Capitol Hill and cases before the U.S. Supreme Court may soon be changing all of that. Two cases that were argued before the high court last week seek to make sense of laws that restrict federal judges from using their discretion in handing down sentences. And Congress may soon be taking up a bill that would stop treating possession of crack and powder cocaine in such different ways.
Both changes are long overdue.
The crack laws were imposed in the 1980s, when the hysteria over the scourge that was ravaging inner cities had reached such heights that something had to be done. At least that was the common wisdom. But the passage of time has shown that much of the legislating was done in haste. Over time, crack cocaine began to seem a lot like cocaine in its powder form - which it is.
Congress must restore a bit of balance, ridding the law of the wild disparity in how the two similar drugs are treated by the law. And the Supreme Court should give judges back the authority to do what they do best - use their judgment and discretion.
Posted by lois at October 12, 2007 10:19 AM