CRACK COCAINE PRISONERS WON'T FLOOD THE STREETS

Residents of the Triad need not be concerned there will be a surge of
federal prisoners convicted for crack cocaine being released
("Officers wary of crack releases," Dec. 15). Although the U.S.
Sentencing Commission shortened the guideline sentences for crack
cocaine and made the changes retroactive, the lengthy mandatory
minimum sentences for these crimes, enacted by Congress, have not changed.

For a crime involving at least 5 grams of crack, the mandatory
minimum is five years. For at least 10 grams, it is 10 years.

Moreover, offenders sentenced under the career offender and armed
career offender guidelines do not benefit from the retroactivity. Nor
do those serving only the five-or 10-year mandatory minimums. Other
restrictions are in place, as well.

Most important, any reduction to an offender's prison time is
entirely under the purview of the court that sentenced the
individual. It is safe to say that the prison doors are not going to
be swinging wide open. Rather, this is one small step toward
individualized sentencing, placed in the hands of judges, not
legislators, for which groups like Families Against Mandatory
Minimums have long advocated.

Robert Stoesen