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Coalition Launches Ad
Campaign to Bring Fairness to Crack Cocaine Sentencing
A coalition of criminal justice advocacy organizations
is launching "It's Not Fair. It's Not Working," a national effort to
reform the federal
sentencing disparity ratio between crack and powder cocaine. The
current 100-to-1 ratio
results in excessive mandatory minimum sentences for first-time
possession of small amounts of crack cocaine.
According to Jesselyn McCurdy of the ACLU, "These
unfair mandatory sentences for crack cocaine have an especially high
impact on communities of color. In 2005, blacks constituted over 80
percent of those sentenced under federal crack cocaine laws."
The coalition will release a series of ads that focus on
the disparity
in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine.
"Something's Wrong With the Math" points
out that an individual only needs to possess five grams of crack cocaine
versus 500 grams of powder cocaine to receive the same five-year mandatory
sentence.
"There's A Crack in the System" supports
the American ideal of a fair and appropriate sentencing system while at
the same time informing the public that possessing a small amount of
crack cocaine can carry an excessive penalty. According to Kara Gotsch
of The Sentencing Project, “These laws have had no impact on
reducing the availability of drugs in our communities and have in fact
diverted precious resources. Possessing a quantity of drugs equivalent
to two sugar packets should not send a person to prison for five
years.
"It's Not Fair" features Karen Garrison, mother of twin
sons who received 15 and 19
year sentences for a non-violent crack cocaine offense just months
after they graduated from college. According to Jasmine Tyler of the
Drug Policy Alliance, “Karen Garrison is like mothers all
over the country who want success for their children. Instead she will
be making visits to federal prisons for years."
Coalition partners include the Open Society Institute,
the
Sentencing Project, the ACLU and the Drug
Policy Alliance.
LEARN MORE
>
Coalition Launches Public Education Initiative to Bring Fairness to
Crack Cocaine Sentencing (8/9/2007)
>
ACLU Calls USSC Federal Sentencing Report a Step in the Right Direction
(5/15/2007)
>
U.S. Sentencing Commission Issues News Recommendations on Federal
Sentencing Guidelines (4/28/2007)
>
ACLU Testifies Before United States Sentencing Commission for Fair Drug
Sentencing Policies (11/14/2006)
RESOURCES
>
"It's Not Fair. It's Not Working" Media Resource Guide
>
Report: Cracks in the System: 20 Years of the Unjust Federal
Crack Cocaine Law
>
United States Sentencing Commission Report: Cocaine and
Federal Sentencing Policy (PDF)
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