Crack and Cocaine Powder Sentencing Disparities Essay Sample free essay sample

Adjunct Majority Leader Dick Durbin ( D-IL ) introduced the Fair Sentencing Act of 2009. a narrowly-tailored measure that would extinguish the condemning disparity between cleft and pulverization cocaine and increase punishments for the worst wrongdoers. This would reconstruct equity to our drug sentencing policy and focal point limited federal resources on violent drug sellers. It has been introduced to Congress to equalise the sentencing for cleft and cocaine drug discourtesies. It started with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. which at the clip was designed to sharply aim the addition in ace cocaine offense. Under the jurisprudence. those convicted of offenses affecting â€Å"crack† cocaine were punished on a 100-to-1 ratio compared to those whose offenses involve cocaine in pulverization signifier. Therefore. a individual who dealt five gms of cleft cocaine could confront 5 old ages in prison. but individual had to cover 500 gms of pulverization cocaine for a similar senten ce. Worse. as the old ages went on. We will write a custom essay sample on Crack and Cocaine Powder Sentencing Disparities Essay Sample or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page some studies indicated that first-time wrongdoers caught selling five gms of pulverization cocaine typically merely received 6 months in prison. and would frequently be eligible for probation. while first-time wrongdoer selling the same sum of cleft faced the mandatary five twelvemonth prison sentence. Another disparity was that the bulk of traders convicted for cleft cocaine discourtesies were Black. while most convicted for pulverization cocaine discourtesies were White. There are many policy grounds behind the push for the new jurisprudence – chiefly to turn to the racial disparities mentioned. but besides to refocus jurisprudence enforcement attempts on drug king-pins instead than street-level traders. The crack-powder disparity disproportionately affects African Americans. While African Americans are less than 30 per centum of cleft users. they are 82 per centum of those convicted of federal cleft discourtesies. Law enforcement experts say that crack-powder disparity undermines trust in our condemnable justness system. particularly in minority communities. The bipartizan United States Sentencing Commission has said that repairing the crack-powder disparity â€Å"would dramatically better the equity of the federal sentencing system. † Under The Fair Sentencing Act. it would extinguish the crack-powder disparity and set up the same sentences for cleft and pulverization cocaine. a 1:1 ratio. It would besides extinguish the compulsory mi nimal sentence for simple ownership of cleft cocaine. The lone compulsory minimal sentence for simple ownership of a drug would be by a first-time wrongdoer. And eventually it would significantly increase punishments for drug discourtesies affecting vulnerable victims. force and other worsening factors. Mentions: â€Å"The Fair Sentencing Act Corrects a Long-time Wrong in Cocaine Cases. † Editorial. The Washington Post 03 Aug. 2010. The Washington Post: National. World A ; D. C. Area News and Headlines – The Washington Post. Web. 06 Nov. 2011. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. washingtonpost. com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/08/02/AR2010080204360. hypertext markup language gt ; . â€Å"The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. † FAMM Home Page. Web. 06 Nov. 2011. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. famm. org/FederalSentencing/USCongress/BillsinCongress/TheFairSentencingActof2010. aspx gt ; . WashingtonWatch. com – P. L. 111-220. The Fair Sentencing Act of 2009. † WashingtonWatch. com. Web. 06 Nov. 2011. lt ; hypertext transfer protocol: //www. washingtonwatch. com/bills/show/111_SN_1789. html # toc0 gt ; .