FEDERAL CRACK SENTENCES TO DECREASE

HAMMOND - At least six federal convicts from Northwest Indiana applied
this month to have their prison time for crack cocaine convictions
reduced in what observers are calling the first trickle before a flood
of similar appeals nationwide.

The appeals in U.S. District Court in Hammond follow a recent federal
decision to loosen sentencing rules on crack offenses.

"Across the district, hundreds will be affected," said Jerry Flynn,
executive director of the Federal Community Defenders Office in
Hammond. "We've identified all of our former clients who may be
eligible and sent them letters. There are hundreds."

A change in federal sentencing guidelines announced last month could
affect as many as 19,000 people convicted of possession or
distribution of crack cocaine. The new sentences vary greatly
depending on the drug amount involved, but convicts stand to reduce
their sentences anywhere from several months to a few years.

U.S. District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen, who is chairman of a
committee examining the issue locally, said northern Indiana ranks
20th in the nation in the total number of cases that could be affected
by the more lenient sentencing rules.

Most of the convicts are likely to see their sentences reduced, but
those who faced multiple types of convictions could be less likely to
see decreases, Van Bokkelen said.

After years of investigation and deliberation, the U.S. Sentencing
Commission voted unanimously late last year to recommend retroactively
lowering sentences for crack cocaine offenses because of an unfair
disparity between offenders caught with crack cocaine and powder cocaine.

Although both drugs are derived from the same substance, lawmakers in
the 1980s argued that crack cocaine should be punished more harshly
because it was more addictive, and its trade was associated with more
violent street crime.

"This has had a disproportionate effect on urban, African-American
communities," Flynn said.

Although most of the crack offenders in northern Indiana are likely to
see decreases, experts say each case is different, and there is no
blanket rule. The commission does not have the power to force judges
to lower sentences.

Flynn said that with the crack cocaine cases, judges will consider
post-conviction behavior and whether the offenders are deemed
dangerous to society.

Crack cocaine is a concentrated form of powder cocaine made by
sauteing the powder narcotic in a saucepan with water and baking soda
to turn it into an off-white crystal that is often smoked through
small glass tubes sold in convenience stores as packaging for "mini"
roses.