STATE ENFORCES HARSH SENTENCES FOR MINOR DRUG OFFENDERS

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) - Alabama's sentences for minor drug offenders are
among the harshest in the nation, and some researchers say the stiff
punishments create racial disparities among offenders and continue to fill
state prisons beyond capacity.

A study by the Equal Justice Initiative points out that more than half of
prisoners locked up for first-degree marijuana possession are black men,
while nearly three-fourths of felony DUI offenders are white men. But
driving while drunk doesn't even become a felony until the driver has been
convicted on DUI four times, and the average sentence is nearly half that
for first-degree marijuana possession - creating a racial disparity, the
study says.

"Even though penalties for drunk driving have become more severe, they are
still very modest compared to the punishments for drug offenses," said Mark
Mauer, assistant director of the Sentencing Project, a Washington-based
consulting firm for criminal justice research. "And you think about the
people who are affected by this: Drunk drivers are predominantly white and
the majority of drug offenders are African-American. There's two forms of
substance abuse and two very different approaches, but both of them can be
harmful in a different way." A first-degree marijuana possession can result
if a person has a prior misdemeanor conviction or if it's a first offense
with 2.2 pounds of marijuana or more.

The average sentence for first-degree marijuana possession is 8.4 years,
while the average felony DUI sentence is 4.8 years, according to the
Alabama Department of Corrections.

Jefferson County Drug Court Judge Pete Johnson said blacks are not the only
ones getting harsh sentences for drug-related offenses under Alabama's law
- - it's a problem for all drug offenders. "We have overreacted totally with
zero tolerance and a lot of people are getting swept up for minor things
and they have a little bit of drugs," said Johnson, a former member of the
sentencing commission.