COCAINE SENTENCING LAWS DEBATED

WASHINGTON A proposal by Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions to reduce the disparity
in federal prison terms between crack and powder cocaine offenses was
lauded Wednesday by Democrats, but the Justice Department remains opposed.

A new recommendation from the U.S. Sentencing Commission has revived the
debate in Congress and the conservative Sessions now finds himself in the
role of a moderate.

At issue is the large gap in how much of each drug it takes to trigger a
minimum mandatory prison sentence. Currently, possession of five grams of
crack is an automatic five-year sentence in federal court, while it takes
500 grams of powder cocaine to earn the same punishment.

"I just don't think we can defend that rationally," said Sessions, a former
federal prosecutor from Mobile. He called his plan a "middle ground"
approach between the more liberal proposal from the Sentencing Commission
and the more conservative tack taken by the Justice Department.

Crack-related convictions have had a disproportionate effect on blacks, and
the law has helped snag more street-level dealers than major producers or
suppliers, statistics show. Some prosecutors have complained that it also
has eroded public confidence in the justice system because it appears to be
blatantly unfair.

Crack is the cooked form of powder cocaine and is considered a cheaper,
quicker, more addictive high. Congress passed the tougher penalties on
crack during its deadly sweep of American cities during the 1980s.

"Our intentions were good but in the rush to pass legislation, we may not
have gotten it right," said Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Delaware, author of the
1986 law.

Sessions, along with cosponsor Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, want the crack
minimum raised from five to 20 grams and the powder reduced from 500 to 400
grams. It would reduce the disparity from its current 100 to 1 down to 20 to 1.

At the hearing, reducing the disparity seemed to be a foregone conclusion
with most senators and witnesses. The debate centered on how to do it.

The Sentencing Commission suggests the gap be narrowed by raising the
trigger point on crack to 25 grams and not adjusting the powder side. The
result would be fewer mandatory sentences for crack offenders.

Justice Department officials, on the other hand, have called the current
5-gram trigger for crack "appropriate" and said the only change should be
to lower the trigger amount on powder. The result would be more mandatory
sentences for those convicted of possessing powder cocaine.

Sessions' plan would mean fewer mandatory sentences for crack offenders and
more mandatory sentences for cocaine offenders.

Despite a passionate plea by the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia
that the 5-gram crack trigger was a key tool in convincing defendants to
plead guilty or provide information, Sessions stuck to his proposal.

"I don't believe it will undermine the legitimate ability of a prosecutor
to crack down on drugs," Sessions said. "We'll see an improvement in the
prosecutors' ability to justify sentences."

Sessions said opposition by the Bush administration is a significant
obstacle for the legislation. The Justice Department under former President
Clinton considered raising the crack trigger to 25 grams and decreasing the
powder trigger to 250 grams, but Clinton eventually killed the idea, saying
that reducing drug-related penalties would send the wrong message.

"I would hope that the politics of the left or the right does not keep us
from a fair evaluation of this issue," Sessions said.

There were fireworks during the Senate hearing. Biden, who said he was
angry that Justice Department officials declined to testify, pounced on
U.S. Attorney Roscoe Howard, the lead prosecutor for the District of
Columbia. The two argued over whether crack-related crimes are more violent
than other drug offenses, and Biden ended the exchange saying he hoped
Howard would not be back to testify "for your own sake."

"I don't think any of our criminal laws has created more controversy over
the last 15 years," said Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.