American Civil Liberties Union

February 15, 2008

Attn: Judiciary Staffer

                                                 Co-Sponsor S. 1711

Dear Senator:

We are part of the Justice Roundtable, a network of advocacy organizations that shares common goals toward rational reform of the U.S. criminal justice system.  Although some of us have already forwarded individual letters to you, we write at this time to provide a collective voice on the critical issue of crack cocaine sentencing reform. We applaud the bipartisan recognition that the mandatory minimum statutes treating one gram of crack cocaine the same as 100 grams of powder cocaine must be corrected.

The Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2007 (S.1711), introduced by Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE), is the Senate bill that comes closest to rational reform of crack cocaine penalties. This proposal begins the process of increasing the federal law enforcement focus towards higher-level traffickers.  It completely eliminates the current disparity in federal sentencing for crack versus powder cocaine offenses, without a shift in the current powder cocaine penalty.  It also eliminates the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine, bringing it in line with simple possession of any other drug.

We acknowledge Senator Sessions (R-AL) for taking the first step in the Senate towards legislative reform (S.1383), narrowing the gap between crack and powder cocaine to a 20:1 quantity ratio. However this bill decreases the amount of powder cocaine that would trigger a sentence.  We commend Senator Hatch (R-UT) for introducing legislation (S.1685), to reduce the federal crack cocaine disparity without a shift in the current penalty for powder cocaine.  This bill also eliminates the mandatory minimum sentence for simple possession of crack cocaine, bringing it in line with simple possession of any other drug.

Attention to reform of crack cocaine sentences have been gaining momentum over the past several months from the U.S. Sentencing Commission to the U.S. Supreme Court.  Indeed, President Bush recently commuted the prison sentence of an individual convicted of a crack offense who served 15 of his 19 year sentence.  A change in the mandatory minimum crack statutes, however, can only occur legislatively.  It is long overdue that Congress act to completely eliminate the 100 to 1 disparity, by bringing crack sentencing in line with current powder cocaine sentencing.  We ask that you co-sponsor S. 1711, the Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act introduced by Senator Biden, and expeditiously end this “crack” in our system of justice.

Sincerely,

Pat Beauchemin
Executive Director
Therapeutic Communities of America

Sheila A. Bedi
Executive Director
Justice Policy Institute

Yvonne Blackmond
Restoring Dignity, Inc.

David Borden
Drug Reform
Coordination Network

Jane Browning
Executive Director
International Community Corrections Association

Arthur Burnett, Sr.
National Executive Director
National African American Drug Policy Coalition, Inc.

Rev. Dr. Eliezer Valentín-Castañón
Associate General Secretary
General Commission on Religion and Race
The United Methodist Church

Ken Fealing
Executive Director
Call To Do Justice

Caroline Fredrickson
Director, Washington Legislative Office
American Civil Liberties Union

Jenni Gainsborough
Director, Washington Office
Penal Reform International

Frank Hall
Managing Director
The Eagle Group

Morton H. Halperin
Executive Director
Open Society Policy Center

Wade Henderson
Executive Director
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights

Carmen Hernandez
President
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers

Kris Krane
Executive Director
Students for Sensible Drug Policy

Marc Mauer
Executive Director
The Sentencing Project

Janet Murguia
President and CEO
National Council of La Raza

Ethan Nadelmann
Executive Director
Drug Policy Alliance

Cassie M. Pierson
Staff Attorney
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children

Hilary Shelton
Director, Washington Bureau
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

Dennis Sobin
Director
Prisons Foundation

Marsha Weissman
Executive Director
Center for Community Alternatives

Paul Wright
Editor
Prison Legal News