SENTENCES REDUCED FOR 3,000 COCAINE INMATES

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Some 3,000 inmates convicted on crack cocaine
charges have had their prison sentences reduced since the federal
government eased penalties for drug crimes that mostly involved
blacks, said a federal Sentencing Commission study released on Thursday.

In December, the commission voted to ease the way courts meted out
penalties for drug crimes to address disparities in the treatment of
crack-related crimes compared with those involving powdered cocaine.
Four out of five crack cocaine defendants are black, and most powder
cocaine convictions involve whites.

Since March 3, when new federal sentencing guidelines went into
effect, 3,647 crack cocaine offenders had applied for early release.
The study said that federal judges nationwide had agreed to reduce
prison sentences for 3,075 inmates.

About 1,600 federal inmates were eligible for immediate release, but
the study said it was not clear how many offenders had been actually
been freed.

Black inmates accounted for 84 percent of those given less prison
time, bolstering the commission's view that the former guidelines had
created a racial disparity because of the way cocaine offenders were sentenced.

The new sentencing guidelines, which took effect last month, allowed
some 20,000 inmates convicted on crack cocaine charges to seek
retroactive reductions in their prison time. Seeking to minimize the
early releases, the Justice Department had unsuccessfully asked
Congress to reduce sentences only for first-time, nonviolent offenders.

Prosecutors are concerned that the new guidelines will result in the
release of thousands of violent criminals.

The report issued on Thursday showed that 30 percent of crack
offenders whose sentences were reduced were minor or first-time
criminals, and 9 percent of those whose sentences were shortened were
violent or repeat offenders.

The commission's report looked at applications in 79 federal court
districts between March 3 and April 14. It offered no conclusions or
commentary about its findings.

The findings will be updated every four to five weeks, a commission
official said.