Sentencing changes for crack cocaine

U.S. Sentencing Commission votes for changes to crack cocaine
sentencing guidelines!


WASHINGTON, D.C.: For the first time in 12 years, the U.S. Sentencing
Commission has approved guideline changes to federal crack cocaine
penalties tonight, by a 6-1 vote. The amendment affects approximately
78 percent of defendants convicted of crack cocaine offenses, reducing
their sentences by an average of 16 months. It will now be sent to
Congress on May 1, 2007, along with other proposed sentencing
amendments.


"While this incremental change is a far cry from the
'equalization' of crack and powder cocaine the Commission recommended
in 1995, it is a long overdue first step to improving crack
sentences," said Julie Stewart, president of Families Against
Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), a national, nonpartisan sentencing reform
organization.


For 15 years the Commission has researched crack cocaine and its
penalties and concluded current federal crack sentences are
unjustifiable. Among the findings from its 2002 report are that crack
penalties


1. exaggerate the relative harmfulness of crack cocaine
2. sweep too broadly and apply most often to lower level offenders
3. overstate the seriousness of most crack cocaine offenses and fail
to provide adequate proportionality
4. and mostly impact minorities


Despite this evidence, Congress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission have
been in a stalemate for a dozen years over how to improve crack
sentences. During that time, nearly 56,000 people were sentenced under
the harsh federal crack cocaine statutes and guidelines. Now, the
U.S. Sentencing Commission has taken the bold step of saying enough is
enough.


"While the Commission's amendment does not solve the problem of
excessive crack cocaine penalties it moves us closer to that goal,
which is why FAMM supports the Commission's crack amendment," says
Stewart.


Congress has six months to consider the amendments before they
automatically take effect on November 1, 2007. Congress would have to
pass bills in both the House and Senate to stop the amendment. It is
highly unlikely such an action will happen this year. If passed, the
amendment will not affect people sentenced before November 1, 2007.


The U.S. Sentencing Commission's crack guideline amendment will
be accompanied by language to Congress that urges them to address the
crack cocaine mandatory minimum. Combined changes to the sentencing
guidelines and mandatory minimum statutes for crack cocaine would
result in more appropriate penalties for roughly 5,000 defendants who
face crack sentences each year. With their faces in mind, FAMM
applauds the Commission for acting on an injustice that can no longer
be tolerated.


Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) is a national, nonpartisan,
nonprofit organization that promotes just sentencing policies. For more
information, visit: www.famm.org.