MANDATORY DRUG TERMS ARE TARGET IN REPORT

African-Americans are disproportionately harmed by mandatory-minimum
drug sentences, with blacks comprising nearly nine out of every 10
offenders sent to Maryland prisons on such terms, according to a
report being released today by a Washington think tank.

The report by the Justice Policy Institute, a research organization
that supports alternatives to prison, is to be discussed at a House of
Delegates committee hearing today. The committee is considering a bill
that would repeal some of the state's mandatory-minimum sentencing
laws.

The study urges moving toward a model that offers treatment over
incarceration. It notes that despite the racial disparity in
sentencing, blacks and whites use drugs at similar rates.

Maryland elected officials have acknowledged that drug use is a public
health problem, and, as a result, the state has offered more treatment
options to low-level offenders, said Jason Ziedenberg, executive
director of the Justice Policy Institute.

"But what we need now is the will to change these laws," he
said.

The proposed legislation seeks to allow judges discretion in
sentencing repeat offenders who commit certain drug crimes. Repealing
the minimum-sentencing laws would allow judges to require treatment,
particularly in the case of a low-level dealer who sells drugs to
support an addiction, said Del. Curtis S. Anderson, a Baltimore
Democrat who commissioned the report and sponsored the bill.

"Over the years, even though we have tried to get tough on drugs, we
have not made a dent in people using drugs," said Anderson. "We have
locked up more people, made the sentences harsher, but we haven't cut
down on the problem at all. Maybe it's time to try something different."

The bill would repeal the mandatory-minimum 10-year sentence for a
second-time offender or conspirator in specific drug crimes. But, it
would not affect those convicted as "volume dealers," or kingpins,
Anderson said.

He said other states have made such reforms, resulting in a decrease
in incarceration costs.

From a public safety perspective, Ziedenberg said, mandatory minimums
have not made communities safer.

Despite an overall decline in homicides since the 1990s, the homicide
rate for African-Americans is nine times higher than that for whites,
he said.

Maryland lawmakers have proposed similar legislation in previous
years, including bills last year in the House and the Senate. But
neither proposal made it out of committee.

It is unclear whether the measure has a chance this session. Some on
the Judiciary Committee, where it will be heard today, have voiced
concerns.

"Jail time, to me, should clearly be a deterrent to crime," said Del.
Donald H. Dwyer, an Anne Arundel County Republican. "I personally do
not support the idea that treatment alone is the answer. Many of the
individuals who are involved in drug crimes are not only committing
drug crimes, but they are also involved in breaking-and-enterings and
theft. You still have victims who will suffer."

Still, those who have been fighting to reform sentencing laws say
attitudes are changing. Kurt L. Schmoke, a former three-term Baltimore
mayor, sparked a national debate on drug policy when in 1988 he called
drug addiction a public health problem and advocated decriminalizing
drugs.

Today, public opinion has become more receptive, said Schmoke, who
submitted testimony supporting the bill.

Two years ago, Schmoke launched the National African American Drug
Policy Coalition, a group of about a dozen black professional
organizations working to reform U.S. sentencing laws.

"We try to explain to people that certain laws that look neutral on
their face are certainly having a disproportionate impact on
communities of color," said Schmoke, dean of the Howard University
School of Law.

"It is totally destructive of family formation and community
stability," he said. "And it's not just the drugs, it's the impact of
the criminal justice system."