Congress Should Eliminate Differences in Drug Sentencing

Summary

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According to the Sentencing Project, the average crack cocaine sentence is 52 percent longer than the average sentence for powder cocaine. Defendants convicted with five grams of crack cocaine are sentenced to a five-year mandatory minimum sentence. For offenses involving powder cocaine, a five-year sentence is only handed down when the crime involves 500 grams of the drug. Lawmakers erroneously believed crack was more addictive and bred more violence than powdered cocaine, so the penalties for the drug were set higher. Scientists say that crack is no more addictive than cocaine and that there is no reasoning for the sentencing differences. These disparities are rooted in racial bias. Two thirds of the nation's crack users are White. Yet, according to a study conducted by the American Civil Liberties Union, 80 percent of crack defendants are Black and 93 percent of those sentenced to prison for crack-related offenses are Black and Latino. When White crack users are arrested, statistics show they are rarely prosecuted. If they are, they are less likely to be convicted.

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Extract

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Congress Should Eliminate Differences in Drug Sentencing

In the mid-1980s, when crack cocaine exploded onto the urban scene, violence became a way of life in many communities as gangs and dealers fought over valuable turf. "...

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