CRACKING OPEN CELL DOORS

Sentencing Proposal Could Alter the Fates of 19,500 Imprisoned Drug
Dealers

HARRISONBURG -- A proposal to make lower sentencing guidelines for
crack cocaine-dealing convictions retroactive, could reduce the
sentences of nearly 20,000 federal inmates, more than 500 of them
convicted in U.S. District Courts in the Western District of Virginia.

As the U.S. Sentencing Commission held a public hearing on its
proposal in Washington, D.C., this week, officials in the Shenandoah
Valley called the plan everything from a vital step toward judicial
fairness to a sign that the country is becoming too tolerant of
serious drug crime.

Two local law enforcement officials say letting convicted crack
dealers out early sends the wrong message about the criminal justice
system and accountability.

But several area defense attorneys say the guideline reduction is
necessary to make sentences for crack similar to those for other
drugs, especially powder cocaine.

For years, attorneys say, steeper guidelines for crack convicts has
meant more blacks in prison longer than their white, Asian or Hispanic
counterparts who are convicted of trafficking in other drugs.

"In my view, it's the only right and moral thing to do," said Larry W.
Shelton, federal public defender for the Western District of Virginia.
"The commission is trying to equalize the playing field between crack
and powder."

Shelton said there is little difference between the two drugs and that
most state courts don't treat them differently.

The Proposed Change

Earlier this year, the U.S. Sentencing Commission lowered the
guidelines that judges use to sentence defendants in crack cases in
federal court.

Sentencing guidelines give judges a range of punishment based on the
defendant's criminal history and other factors such as the quantity of
drugs allegedly sold, and the defendant's place in the hierarchy of a
drug-dealing operation.

Most defendants convicted in federal drug conspiracy cases face
punishments ranging from 10 years to life in prison. The guidelines
can affect where judges sentence defendants within the ranges set by
law.

Now the panel is considering making the reduced guidelines for crack
offenses retroactive -- a move that would make 19,500 federal inmates
eligible for reduced sentences, according to an analysis on the
commission's Web site.

Defense attorneys say the plan addresses the racial disparity that has
become evident as more and more black men have ended up serving years
and sometimes decades for crack convictions.

An analysis posted on the sentencing commission's Web site says that
85.9 percent of the inmates who will become eligible to be sentenced
under the new guidelines are black; 94.2 percent are men.

If approved, inmates sentenced under the old guidelines would receive
an average reduction of 27 months, the report says, leading to early
releases over the next three decades.

Instead of knocking off prison time automatically, the plan would
allow inmates to return to court for a new sentence, according to the
new rules.

A date for the commission to vote on the proposal hasn't been set,
according to the commission's Web site.

An Uncertain Future

Even though the change hasn't been ratified, area lawyers who practice
in federal courts say the possibility of retroactive sentencing is
creating a stir.

Harrisonburg attorney Darren Bostic, who defends clients in federal
drug cases, says the change is needed, and that those accused of
selling even small amounts of crack face inordinate prison terms.

"The guidelines will be reduced at least some, gliding down to where
they're reasonable," Bostic said. The way they have been, he says, is
"completely unreasonable."

Dozens of defendants, he estimated, who were convicted in U.S.
District Court in Harrisonburg could receive reduced sentences if the
plan is approved.

Aaron Cook, another Harrisonburg attorney, says he has about 10 former
clients serving five-to-15-year sentences in federal prison. Some have
recently called him wondering whether the proposal could affect their
cases.

But at this point, he's not sure what to tell them. Even if the
commission makes the change retroactive, Cook says, sentence
reductions would still be up to judges.

Faced with busy court dockets, federal judges may be reluctant to hear
appeals for reduced sentences from convicted drug dealers, he said.

But if approved, Cook says, the sentence reduction would be a rare
break for convicts, because most politicians campaign on putting away
criminals rather than letting them go.

"It's very rare that any action taken by the government benefits
defendants," he said. "There are a lot of [changes] needed, including
this."

Cook described his former clients as predominantly low-level dealers,
addicted to crack, who sold to support their habit and who profited
little, if any, from their crimes.

What Good Will It Do?

Supervisory Special Agent Tom Murphy, coordinator of the RUSH Drug
Task Force, says steep penalties deter drug dealing and that he
opposes retroactive sentence reductions.

Also, Murphy said, the move could hurt efforts, which RUSH supports,
that have sought to raise sentencing guidelines for methamphetamine to
the levels used in crack cases.

Lt. Kurt Boshart, spokesman for the Harrisonburg Police Department,
says that if people want parity, then raising the sentencing
guidelines for trafficking other drugs makes more sense than lowering
the sentences for defendants already convicted.

A reduction in federal sentences would show the country is becoming
more tolerant of an unacceptable crime, he said.

Also, Boshart says, the plan doesn't address the underlying issue of
why more blacks are involved in the crack trade, or similarly why more
whites and Hispanics are caught for meth.

A better understanding of the cultural or economic factors underlying
those problems would allow for a better solution, he said.

"If we're going to look at it, we need to look at it deeper than the
number of years someone is going to serve in prison," Boshart said.
"All this solves is the number of people who are in jail. ... I don't
see how this is going to solve the [drug] problem."