NC SLOW TO CUT CRACK SENTENCES

Federal Revision

Federal judges across the country have released hundreds of crack
cocaine inmates or reduced their sentences under new guidelines that
took effect this month.

But in North Carolina, the courts have shortened sentences for just
three people, public defenders say.

At least 14 other inmates prosecuted in the Charlotte region qualify
for immediate release but remain incarcerated, according to Claire
Rauscher, public defender for Western North Carolina.

More prisoners statewide may be in the same situation, according to
officials who are examining records to determine who is eligible.
"You hate to see someone serve a day longer than they should, but
some may have to serve a few extra weeks," said Louis Allen, federal
public defender for the Middle District of North Carolina, which
stretches from Winston-Salem to Durham.

Court officials say they are working as quickly as possible through
caseloads among the largest in the nation. They said they would
resolve more cases in coming weeks.

"This is a new law and the first couple of weeks always take the
longest," said Frank Johns, clerk of the U.S. District Court for
Western North Carolina, which covers Charlotte.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission in December retroactively reduced the
sentences to narrow the disparity in punishment between crack and
powder cocaine. Laws dating to the 1980s mandated a minimum five-year
prison sentence for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine, about the
size of five sugar packets. A person would have to possess 500 grams
of powder cocaine to get the same punishment.

Civil rights leaders and some judges and federal lawmakers called the
rules unjust because crack defendants are more likely to be African
American and powder cocaine defendants are more likely to be white.
The new guidelines allow crack offenders to petition the court for
shorter sentences. Judges can approve or deny the petitions based on
factors such as an inmate's criminal history or behavior in prison.

N.C. heavily affected Federal authorities in North Carolina for years
have been among the nation's most aggressive in prosecuting
crack-cocaine suspects, public defenders said.As a result, the state
has been heavily affected by the revised sentencing guidelines, they said.

In the Western District, which stretches from Charlotte to the
Tennessee border, 536 inmates are eligible for a lower sentence, the
fifth highest out of 94 federal court districts, the Sentencing
Commission reported last year. The Eastern District of North Carolina
has 489, seventh most; and the Middle District 436, 11th highest.

So far, one person has been freed in North Carolina. Two others have
had their prison terms shortened, officials said.

Prisoners in other states have moved faster through the courts. As of
Friday, the federal government said it had received about 1,900 court
orders reducing prisoners' sentences.

At least 400 court orders were received the week of March 3, the day
the new guidelines took effect, said Michael Nachmanoff, public
defender for the U.S. District Court for Eastern Virginia.

Nachmanoff said at least seven offenders from his district were
immediately released from prison March 3 because the courts started
working on the cases in February.

"There are many districts that have had success," Nachmanoff said.
"Unfortunately, North Carolina is behind the curve." Paperwork not
filed Of the 14 remaining Western North Carolina cases where public
defenders have pending requests for an inmate's immediate release,
almost all have been delayed because the U.S. Attorney's Office has
failed to file paperwork, said Rauscher, the public defender.

Each federal court district makes its own rules for determining
whether inmates are eligible for sentence reductions.

In Western North Carolina, public defenders can represent inmates who
petition for earlier release. The U.S. Attorney's Office files
paperwork to support or oppose the petition. A judge rules after
weighing the arguments and a recommendation from the probation office.

Johns, the Western District's clerk, said the district has received
about 200 requests for early release. Court officials have not
determined how many of them qualify.

Rauscher said most of the inmates eligible for immediate release are
nonviolent offenders. They live in halfway houses.

"I'm very frustrated," she said. A report the Sentencing Commission
gave to Congress said 89 percent of crack offenses are nonviolent.

A spokeswoman for Western North Carolina U.S. Attorney Gretchen
Shappert declined to comment.

Shappert has been an outspoken critic of the sentence reductions,
testifying to the Sentencing Commission last year that it would put
dangerous criminals back on the streets.

Shappert testified that their release would harm law enforcement
successes that help make neighborhoods in Charlotte and elsewhere
less violent. "Crack dealing is not a victimless crime," she said.
"It holds entire communities hostage."

In addition to caseloads At a federal office serving North Carolina's
Middle District, seven attorneys must review more than 1,000 cases to
determine whether offenders qualify for a shortened sentence, said
Allen, the public defender.There have been no hearings there, in
part, because the attorneys must handle the task in addition to their
normal caseloads, Allen said.

In the Western District, Rauscher has hired a temporary receptionist
to help take calls from anxious families wondering when prisoners
will go free. Since February the office has received an extra 60 to
80 calls a day. The families have "learned to be patient," she said.
"They are just thrilled there's a possibility their relative is
getting out." Eligible offenders 1,900 | Number of crack offenders
nationwide who have received reduced sentences. 1,461 | Number of
crack offenders eligible for reduced sentences in North Carolina. 3 |
Number of crack offenders who have received reduced sentences in
North Carolina. SOURCES: Federal Bureau of Prisons; the U.S.
Sentencing Commission; and federal public defender offices More Info?
To check on the status of a petition for a reduced sentence or other
information, call The Federal Public Defender Office for the
Western District of North Carolina, 704-374-0720.

The Federal Public Defender Office for the Middle District of North
Carolina, 336-333-5455.

The Federal Public Defender Office for the Eastern District of North
Carolina, 919-856-4236.