The Sentencing Commission has repeatedly advocated for the reduction or elimination of the crack vs. powder sentencing disparity. In 2004, the Sentencing Commission stated that revising the mandatory minimum for possession of crack would do more to reduce the racial sentencing gap “than any other single policy change.” And in 2007, the U.S. Sentencing Commission lowered the average sentence for crack cocaine offenders by fifteen months.
Despite recent action, only Congress can change the mandatory minimums. Currently, the House is deliberating among four bills that address the disparity, and three similar bills have been submitted in the Senate. Drug War Chronicle has reported that Bill Piper, national affairs director for the Drug Policy Alliance, is optimistic about the chances of a revised sentencing policy. But whether or not Congress will be able to reach a consensus during this session remains to be seen.
In the meantime, should you happen upon a statistic about the disproportionate number of young black men in jail, remind yourself and those around you of the real reason for the high percentage of incarcerated black men and women—systemically racist policies at work in our criminal justice system.
Article comments
1 - Doug Hunter
You are so misinformed it's not even funny. The reason more blacks are in jail is because they commit mroe violent crimes, period. Also, the violence is the reason for the disparity in sentencing. Urban violence associated with gangs is very well documented, white suburban cocaine users aren't doing drive bys and committing murders for the most part. It's nice to see someone so naive on these issues, so fresh off from the indoctrination camps that pass for 'education' in this country. Congrats on your passing score in diversity and gender studies.
2 - Dr Dreadful
An excellent and well-argued piece, Lisa. I don't think you analyzed the sentencing disparity by any means fully, although perhaps that wasn't your intent in such a short article.
I'm amazed that you haven't had more comments on this, a topic which has stimulated much vigorous and vehement debate in the past. The Culture section does seem to be a sort of literary Siberia here on BC, which might explain it...
I wouldn't pay too much attention to Doug, above. He does make one or two good points, although they are rather lost amidst the hail of dogmatic rage, sarcasm and personal insult that is his stock-in-trade.
It's a strange thing that if you were to witness, in isolation, any one criminal trial of a black defendant in modern America, you would probably be convinced from what you had seen that it had been conducted fairly. It's only when you step back and look at the broader picture that you see the disparity. With the inevitable few exceptions, I don't think the individuals who work in the justice system act in a racially-motivated way: which is why, I'm sure, you were careful to speak about systematized racism.
3 - bliffle
Aside from the racial disparities, I'm amazed that 1 in 100 Americans are in prison! What's going on here? Are americans just more felonious than anyone anywhere anytime?
I don't think so.I think that it's just that the demands of modern US society are so great that more people desperately commit crimes.
Is this the failure of our carrot and stick society? Where we seek to get corporation execs to perform by offering big tax incentives and subsidies and we threaten everyone else with prison?
Is this the result of class warfare as much as racism?
Or are we all just bad, and do we all need to be punished, and so far we're only up to 1% of quota?