CONGRESS NEEDS TO REFORM SENTENCING LAWS FOR CRACK

Equal justice under the law still remains elusive for 20,000 people
serving federal sentences for crack cocaine, despite the U.S.
Sentencing Commission's long-awaited reform of federal sentencing
guidelines for crack, effective November 1.

These prisoners are currently serving sentences so harsh that they
will no longer be imposed on future defendants, but they are
ineligible for relief because the new guideline is not yet
retroactive.

People serving mandatory minimum sentences for crack cocaine under the
very laws that created the 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack
and powder cocaine are also not affected by the new guideline. Only
Congress can change mandatory minimum laws.

The Sentencing Commission's latest report to Congress confirms that
punishing people more severely for crack cocaine overstates the
harmfulness of the drug and has a devastating impact on low-level
offenders and minorities.

The time is ripe for reform, especially given the bipartisan support
for sentencing reform that has emerged in recent years.

The Sentencing Commission should make the new guideline retroactive
and Congress must act decisively now to reform mandatory sentencing
laws.

Asha Harper,

Gainesville