Racial disparities in the united states in the past forty years, america has, for the most part, failed to meet the kerner commissions1 goals of less poverty, inequality, racial injustice and crime. Race and class penalties in crack cocaine sentencing by michael coyle overview after a decade of contentious debate regarding the federal sentencing disparities between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, a number of significant initiatives to reform current policy. Racial trends in the administration of criminal justice. Fair sentencing act american civil liberties union. The sentencing project cracked justice crack cocaine. However, it takes 500 grams of powder cocaine more than onepound bag of sugar. Activists argue that the current rules are too harsh. Racial and ethnic diversity among a heroin and cocaine using. The 1986 law created a 100 to 1 disparity between the sentencing guidelines for crack and powder cocaine. Allow judges to consider employment status or family situation. Learn more about the history of cocaine and crack, how history has reshaped the reputation of the drugs, and how the legal system handles sentencing differently by drug type and race.
President obama reduced the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powdered cocaine from 100. However, it seems unreasonable to think adding baking soda makes the drug 100x more illegal. May 04, 2017 race, racial disparities, and texas prisons. Chris stone, director of the vera institute of justice, correctly asserts, however,that there is a remediable dearth of information about racial issues in the administration of criminal justice outside of the blackwhite conflict stone, 1999. The vote will apply the fair sentencing act of 2010, which reduced disparities in sentencing for powder vs. Because crack and powder cocaine are two forms of the same drug, there should not be any disparity in sentencing between crack and powder cocaine offenses the only truly fair ratio is 1. May 18, 20 in 2010 congress recognized the massive racial disparity between mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine offenses and cocaine offenses and reduced the ratio from 100. Definition of crack cocaine, race, and the war on drugs in the legal dictionary by free online english dictionary and encyclopedia. These harsher penalties fall disproportionately on african americans and other people of color. Sentencing commissions adjustment to the crack cocaine sentencing guidelines. People of color experience discrimination at every stage of the criminal justice system and are more likely to be stopped, searched, arrested, convicted, harshly sentenced and saddled with a lifelong criminal record.
Jul 01, 2014 at the time, possession of crack cocaine resulted in penalties 100 times higher than possession of an equal amount of the powdered form. Crack cocaine affects the mind faster, giving users a less likely chance to escape the drug and the harsh penalties that follow it. Despite comparable rates of usage, people of color are more likely to be sentenced and incarcerated for crack. Crack and cocaine powder sentencing disparities essay. Racial disparity and the crack cocaine federal sentencing. The drug war drives racial disparities in the criminal justice system misguided drug laws and draconian sentencing have produced profoundly unequal outcomes for communities of color.
It just as offensive, with its inherent racial disparity, to punish crack cocaine offenders 20 times more severely than powder cocaine offenders as it was to punish them 100 times more severely. Apr 17, 2012 he said it is clear that congress would want such a rule followed in these cases, because the racial inequalities that came with the disparate sentences for crack vs. Disparity, discrimination, and adverse impacts fair sentencing is individualized sentencing. Many inmates are being released starting tuesday, thanks to changes easing the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences. Violence associated with crack stems from distribution in disadvantaged neighborhoods. The 100to1 cocaine sentencing disparity remained the law of the land until 2010 with the passage of the fair sentencing act, which reduced the sentencing disparity between crack and powder. Heroin project found that racial disparities rooted in the 1980s campaign against crack cocaine still persist today despite more compassionate rhetoric about the opioid crisis.
Racial disparity approximately 23 of crack users are white or hispanic, yet the vast majority of persons convicted of possession in federal courts in 1994 were african american, according to the ussc. Thus, federal sentences for crack were constructed to relate to sentences for powder cocaine in a 100. Racial, ethnic, and gender disparities in federal sentencing today a. Thousands of prisoners now eligible to receive fairer sentences. In the 2008 campaign, obama said the sentencing disparity has disproportionately filled our prisons with young black and.
Crack cocaine arrests and prosecutions are an example of how directing federal attention to prosecuting a particular drug as opposed to other drug cases being left to the states can result in racial disparities. However, none have a quantity ratio as large as the 100. Since congress recognized the gaping racial disparity between mandatory minimum sentences for crack offenses and cocaine offenses and reduced the ratio from 100to1 to 18to1, courts have grappled with when and how to apply the statute to alreadydecided cases. Racial disparities in law enforcement do not violate the us constitution, as long as they are not the result of discriminatory intent. Compromise bill to end racial disparities in drug sentencing hits connecticut governor drug policy alliance.
Crack cocaine disparity, the fair sentencing act 2010. Cracking the racial disparity for cocaine sentencing. National study on alcoholrelated occupational injuries the likelihood for workplace accidents skyrockets when employees are under the influence. At issue is a growing and long overdue effort by some federal lawmakers to reduce the wide and unjustifiable disparity in sentences doled out to those convicted of crack and powder cocaine. Supreme court ruled that the reductions in the fair sentencing act applied to at least those cases decided before.
Even more troubling is when racial disparities are the result of conscious racial bias. Cracking the racial disparity for cocaine sentencing center. Concern over possible racial or ethnic discrimination in federal sentencing remains strong. Jul 28, 2010 some 80 percent of those convicted of crack cocaine offenses are black. In response, the antidrug abuse act of 1986 included a provision that created the disparity between federal penalties for crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses, imposing the same penalties for the possession of an amount of crack cocaine as for 100 times the same amount of powder cocaine. For one reason or another, unspoken racial biases still play a huge role in hiring. Obama needs to fix the crack cocaine sentencing gap. Regardless of changes in the federal law, a charge of crack or powder cocaine is a very serious charge. Crack cocaine is not 100x more addictive than powder cocaine, nor does it get you that much higher. The sentencing disparities between crack and cocaine attn. How an early biden crime bill created the sentencing disparity for.
Substance abuse and addiction in the workplace addiction. Jackson decided that the sentence for a convicted crack dealer should be four years. One major cause of these disparities is a profoundly stupid mandatory federal sentencing scheme instituted in the 1980s during the national panic over crack cocaine. Icerd, by contrast, imposes no discriminatory intent requirement, and prohibits government policies that have racially discriminatory effects. Statistics from their findings and various other sources are presented below. In 2008, willie mays aikens made headlines when a federal judge reduced his lengthy prison term to 14 years as a result of the u. This issue is particularly relevant to the disparity inherent in mandatory sentencing and arbitrariness in sentencing, especially since dealers in powdered cocaine are much more likely higher up on the supply chain than distributors of crack cocaine ussc, 2007. Race and class penalties in crack cocaine sentencing. Oct 02, 2007 disparity related to crime history of crack douglas berman, law professor at ohio state university, talks with michele norris about how the disparity in sentencing minimums between crack and. Analyzing americas shifting crack cocaine digital commons.
Feb 19, 2015 in their analysis, now in the online edition of drug and alcohol dependence, crack users were at higher risk than powder cocaine users for reporting a lifetime arrest or multiple recent arrests. Supreme court weighs whether law reducing crack cocaine. In the mid 80s, congress passed the antidrug abuse act of 1986. New york legislation approved by the house on july 28, 2010 will dramatically alter the historically more punitive approach to federal crack cocaine offenders that led to racial disparities in. Approximately 16 percent of emergency room patients injured at work have alcohol in their system. Unwarranted disparity is defined as different treatment of individual offenders who are similar in relevant ways, or similar treatment of individual. There are notable racial and ethnic disparities in cocaine use with whites more likely to report lifetime cocaine use i. Colorblindness, racism, and disparate impact the atlantic. Some historians challenge the idea that white conservatives were solely to blame for the laws that sent countless black men to prison. Aug, 2014 mitchells bill will correct the groundless disparity in sentencing, probation and asset forfeiture guidelines for possession of crack cocaine for sale versus the same crime involving powder cocaine that has resulted in a pattern of racial discrimination in sentencing and incarceration in california. Race, racial disparities, and texas prisons maryam. A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a. The new form of cocaine was called crack, and by the summer of 1986 it was fueling fears of a drug epidemic.
The disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentencing has been the most notorious example of profound racial bias baked into our superficially neutral criminal laws. The explosive popularity of crack cocaine was associated with its cheap price, which for the first time made cocaine available to a wider economic class. In a ten year study of cocaine and opiate overdose deaths new york city, cocaine was more commonly found in black decedents, and opiates and alcohol in hispanics and white fatalities. Currently, it takes 28 grams 28g of powder cocaine to trigger the same mandatory minimum sentence as only half a gram of crack, even though they are two forms of the same drug.
Crack cocaine became prevalent in the mid1980s and received massive media attention due in part to its exponential growth in the drug market. Racial minorities were at low risk for powder cocaine use, but they tended to be at high risk for crack use. May 18, 20 since congress recognized the gaping racial disparity between mandatory minimum sentences for crack offenses and cocaine offenses and reduced the ratio from 100to1 to 18to1, courts have. Discrimination that results from evenhanded application of policies or procedures. But its beginnings were mired in racism, in some cases forcing cocaine use on black slaves and workers for increased production.
That is what a 2014 study by notre dame economist abigail wozniak seems to be suggesting. The ussc has also addressed the significant racial disparity associated with those. End in sight for infamous crack cocaine laws human. Jun 03, 2014 the law reduced the disparity between the amount of crack cocaine and powder cocaine needed to trigger certain united states federal criminal penalties from a 100. Unless otherwise noted, data is from the kerner commission report. Written statement submitted by carol chodroff, us advocacy director, to the house judiciary committee, subcommittee on crime. Congress is considering a bill to change drug laws that punish crack cocaine violations more severely than those for powder cocaine. California fair sentencing act that addresses racial. Legislation to address racial disparity in sentencing heads to president obamas desk. Tuesday morning, the supreme court took up two cases concerned with the nettlesome racial politics of the war on drugs. Racial disparities in the prescription of opioidcontaining compounds are dramatic with the nonwhite individuals being prescribed at half the rate. Under the law, possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine incurred the same minimum sentence as 500 grams of powder cocaine a 100 to 1 quantity disparity that remained in.
Racial disparities and fiscal consequences of americas drug laws abstract in 1986, the united states government attempted to combat the perceived war on drugs by enacting mandatory drug laws, with a primary focus on incarcerating crack offenders. The punishment difference between crackcocaine and powdercocaine exposes an unjust feature in the american justice system, a system. Law reduces inequity in cocaine, crack sentencing the. The law also contained minimum sentences and other disparities between the two forms of the drug. When racial disparity in sentencing occurs in some contexts, but not others, it is called.
Because crack cocaine offenders tended to be black and powder cocaine offenders tended to be white, critics of the law denounced it as racially biased in hindsight. Black leaders once championed the strict drug laws they. Crack cocaine, race, and the war on drugs legal definition. Cracked justice updated 32411 2 sentencing project. Learn more about the history of cocaine and crack, how history has reshaped the reputation of the drugs, and how the legal system handles sentencing differently by.
These racial and ethnic patterns of drug use for our hospital clinics and ed patients are supported by other studies. The us house of representatives approved a bill, sb 1789 on july 28. How an early biden crime bill created the sentencing. This policy analysis utilizes the david gil policy analysis framework 1970 to evaluate the antidrug abuse act of 1986 and the fair sentencing act of. There is a possibility, however, that this racial disparity in hiring could be reduced by workplace drug testing. But in reality, according to experts, crack cocaine and powder cocaine are essentially identical. Congress acts to reduce disparity drug war chronicle. The new law significantly reduces the cocaine sentencing quantity disparity from 100 to 1 to 18 to 1 by raising the quantity of crack cocaine necessary to trigger the five and tenyear mandatory minimum sentences first set in 1986. Substance abuse in the workplace can lead to lowered productivity, physical injuries and fatalities. Under these laws, possession or sale of crack results in a mandatory sentence 100 times greater than that someone would receive for selling or possessing the same amount of powder. October 08, 20 criminal law and criminology 4 comments 3 min read.
How an early biden crime bill created the sentencing disparity for crack and cocaine trafficking sens. Chief among these is the racial outcome of the sentencing disparity. Data show racial disparity in crack sentencing us news. The punishment difference between crack cocaine and powder cocaine exposes an unjust feature in the american justice system, a system that was built to be the epitome of justice. Falsely treating crack cocaine as 50 times more addictive than powder cocaine, as congress did more than in creating the 100toone quantity ratio, has implications beyond that of mere unfair sentencing. How many states maintain sentencing disparities between crack and powder cocaine. This sentencing disparity between powder and crack cocaine raises important public policy issues, on the one hand, because africanamericans comprise the. So, the federal law still imposes a different and harsher sentence for crack cocaine possession than it does for powder cocaine possession, but the disparity is not nearly as great as under the 1986 act. Oct 30, 2015 hillary clinton to call for ending racial profiling and disparities in crack cocaine sentences.
Congress acts to reduce inequity in cocaine sentencing law addresses racial disparity in terms for crack. The fair sentencing act amends existing laws by increasing the amounts of crack that trigger these penalties, from five grams to 28 grams for fiveyear minimum sentences and from 50 grams to 280 grams for tenyear minimum sentences. Now, this is often called the 100to1 disparity because a person caught with five grams of crack the equivalent of about two sugar cubes gets a mandatory minimum of five years in federal prison. In supporting this decision, he asserted that since crack cocaine is only minutes away from powder cocaine, the disparity in sentences for the two forms of the same drug cannot be justified, particularly when the disparity has such an obvious disproportionate impact upon african americans. New rules slashing crack cocaine sentences go into. Federal crack cocaine sentencing the sentencing project. The fsa represents a decadelong, and truly bipartisan, effort to reduce the racial disparities caused by the draconian crack cocaine sentencing laws. Some 2020 democratic candidate argue that the sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine, which now sits at 18to1, should be eliminated entirely.
One would think, based on the sentencing laws, that crack cocaine is a very different drug than powder cocaineand much worse. Assistant majority leader dick durbin dil introduced the fair sentencing act of 2009, a narrowlytailored bill that would eliminate the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine and increase penalties for the worst offenders. Heroin project found that racial disparities rooted in the 1980s campaign against crack cocaine still persist today despite more compassionate. This is undeniably true in choosing people for employment. A comprehensive examination of the 100to1 crack versus powder cocaine sentencing disparity under which distribution of just 5 grams of crack carries a minimum 5year federal prisonsentence, while distribution of 500 grams of powder cocaine carries the same 5year mandatory minimum sentence.
175 1051 341 1227 469 253 572 1092 526 368 1345 56 1495 905 1470 377 438 1215 448 928 177 202 347 7 1138 176 594 595 1268 1119 795 1281 413 1253 1429 197 936 1351 981