By JIM ABRAMS (AP)
WASHINGTON — Congress has changed a quarter-century-old law that has sent tens of thousands of blacks to prison for crack cocaine convictions while giving far more lenient treatment to those, mainly whites, caught with the same amount of the drug in powder form.
House passage of what was called the “fair sentencing act” sends the legislation to President Barack Obama for his signature.
The measure alters a 1986 law, enacted at the height of the crack cocaine epidemic, under which a person convicted of crack cocaine possession gets the same mandatory prison term as someone with 100 times the same amount of powder cocaine.
The legislation reduces that ratio to about 18-to-1.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is reducing sentencing differences between crack and powder cocaine convictions that sent tens of thousands of blacks to prison while often letting whites skate for possessing the same amount of the drug in powder form.
Lawmakers created the disparity 24 years ago when crack appeared on the scene as a cheap but addictive drug.
The House planned to vote Wednesday on the measure that would change the 1986 law under which a person convicted of crack cocaine possession gets the same mandatory prison term as someone with 100 times the same amount of powder cocaine. The legislation would reduce that ratio to about 18-1.
The Senate has passed the legislation. House approval would send it to President Barack Obama.
“There is no law enforcement or sentencing rationale for the current disparity between crack and cocaine powder offenses,” Attorney General Eric Holder said when the Senate acted in March.
Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., sponsor of the Senate bill, said that while blacks make up 30 percent of crack users, they account for more than 80 percent of those convicted of federal crack offenses.
Under current law, possession of 5 grams of crack triggers a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence. The same mandatory sentence applies to a person convicted of trafficking 500 grams of powder cocaine.
The proposed legislation would apply the five-year term to someone with 28 grams, or an ounce, of crack. It would be the first time in 40 years that Congress has repealed a mandatory minimum sentence.
Julie Stewart, president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums, said 28 grams is about what the average crack dealer might carry around.
She said politicians and sentencing commissions have for years acknowledged the unfairness of the system, “but no one wanted to look soft on crime.” The legislative change, she said, is “much more about being smart on crime.”
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Online:
Information on the bill, S. 1789, can be found at http://thomas.loc.gov
U.S. Sentencing Commission: http://www.ussc.gov/
Families Against Mandatory Minimums: http://www.famm.org/
Copyright © 2010 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
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