News (Media Awareness Project) - US NC: Group Says Minimums Punish Low-Level Addicts, Miss |
| Title: | US NC: Group Says Minimums Punish Low-Level Addicts, Miss |
| Published On: | 2001-06-16 |
| Source: | Charlotte Observer (NC) |
| Fetched On: | 2008-01-25 16:50:12 |
GROUP SAYS MINIMUMS PUNISH LOW-LEVEL ADDICTS, MISS KINGPINS
Meeting Looks At Required Jail Time
In some parts of the country, lengthy prison terms for nonviolent drug
offenders are on the way out, sentencing reform advocates said Friday as
they opened a two-day conference in Charlotte.
Leaders of a national group, Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM),
said criticism is rising in various states against the lengthy sentences
state and federal laws require judges to impose against drug offenders in
the nation's war against drugs.
They hope their conference, which features seminars today and a 6:30 p.m.
speech by U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, will rally opposition
in the Southeast to mandatory minimum sentences.
Laura Sager, executive director of FAMM, addressed the media at St. Luke's
Lutheran Church on Park Road, where the event is being held.
She said officials in New York, Connecticut, Louisiana and Georgia have
been re-examining the fairness of such laws. Citing various studies, Sager
said the laws often don't catch drug kingpins, but rather snare low-level,
nonviolent drug addicts and punish them with long sentences.
Budget shortfalls brought on by the faltering economy are also forcing
states to look at prison spending.
"They can't afford it any longer, and they realize the results are not what
they intended," she said.
The Rev. Stanley Crawford of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP noted that
thousands of children have lost their fathers to lengthy prison sentences
under a system he called "unfair, unclear and unconscionable." The
conference will feature former federal prisoners, their families, religious
leaders and political leaders. Organizers said they will be searching for
ways to build grass-roots opposition to mandatory minimum sentences.
The drug war "is not working. If you look at it, it is an unqualified
failure," said Melba Newsome, a free-lance writer who has studied the issue
and will participate in the conference. "We don't want crime to go
unpunished. We want the punishment to fit the crime."
Meeting Looks At Required Jail Time
In some parts of the country, lengthy prison terms for nonviolent drug
offenders are on the way out, sentencing reform advocates said Friday as
they opened a two-day conference in Charlotte.
Leaders of a national group, Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM),
said criticism is rising in various states against the lengthy sentences
state and federal laws require judges to impose against drug offenders in
the nation's war against drugs.
They hope their conference, which features seminars today and a 6:30 p.m.
speech by U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, will rally opposition
in the Southeast to mandatory minimum sentences.
Laura Sager, executive director of FAMM, addressed the media at St. Luke's
Lutheran Church on Park Road, where the event is being held.
She said officials in New York, Connecticut, Louisiana and Georgia have
been re-examining the fairness of such laws. Citing various studies, Sager
said the laws often don't catch drug kingpins, but rather snare low-level,
nonviolent drug addicts and punish them with long sentences.
Budget shortfalls brought on by the faltering economy are also forcing
states to look at prison spending.
"They can't afford it any longer, and they realize the results are not what
they intended," she said.
The Rev. Stanley Crawford of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP noted that
thousands of children have lost their fathers to lengthy prison sentences
under a system he called "unfair, unclear and unconscionable." The
conference will feature former federal prisoners, their families, religious
leaders and political leaders. Organizers said they will be searching for
ways to build grass-roots opposition to mandatory minimum sentences.
The drug war "is not working. If you look at it, it is an unqualified
failure," said Melba Newsome, a free-lance writer who has studied the issue
and will participate in the conference. "We don't want crime to go
unpunished. We want the punishment to fit the crime."
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