ABA Prez Cites Crack Myths, Supports Sentencing Changes
ABA President William H. Neukom is supporting legislation to eliminate the disparity in federal sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses. Currently, crack cocaine offenders are punished the same as those who commit crimes involving 100 times the amount of powder cocaine.
Neukom says the legislation would “restore fairness and a sound foundation to federal sentencing policy” by refocusing on major drug traffickers.
“Many myths about crack were perpetuated in the late 1980s that claimed, for example, that crack cocaine caused violent behavior or that it was instantly addictive,” Neukom states in a letter (PDF) to Sen. Joseph Biden, chair of the Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “Since then, research and extensive analysis by the [U.S. Sentencing Commission] has revealed that such assertions are not supported by sound evidence and, in retrospect, were exaggerated or simply false.”
Neukom cites a report issued in May by the Sentencing Commission that found the drug sentencing policy has had a discriminatory effect on African-Americans. The report found that 66 percent of those who use crack cocaine are white or Hispanic, but African-Americans constitute 82 percent of those sentenced under crack laws.
The bill, known as the Drug Sentencing Reform and Kingpin Trafficking Act, would raise the crack quantities that trigger five-year and 10-year minimum sentences and would repeal a mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack.
