---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: James Rucker, ColorOfChange.org <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Apr 20, 2009 at 11:28 AM
Subject: 1 in 15
To: Tequeda Johnson <[email protected]>
*Crack vs. powder: the drug law that continues to ravage Black
communities.
Now we have an opportunity to change it. *
[image: behind bars] <http://www.colorofchange.org/crack/?id=2424-711556>
*Tell Congress to reform
the law now: *
[image: Click here] <http://www.colorofchange.org/crack/?id=2424-711556>
Dear Tequeda
The so-called "war on drugs" has created a national disaster: 1 in 15 Black
adults in America are behind bars.1 It's not because we commit more crime
but largely because of unfair sentencing rules that treat 5 grams of crack
cocaine--the kind found in poor Black communities--the same as 500 grams of
powder cocaine2, which is the kind found in White and wealthier communities.
*These sentencing laws are destroying communities across the country and
have done almost nothing to reduce the level of drug use and crime.*
We now have an opportunity to end this disaster once and for all. A bill is
moving through Congress right now that would end the sentencing
disparity.3It's critical that members of Congress see support from
everyday folks. Join
us in asking our representatives in the House and Senate to push for its
passage, and please ask your friends and family to do the same. It only
takes a moment:
http://colorofchange.org/crack/?id=2424-711556
At every step in the criminal justice system, Black people are at a
disadvantage -- we are more likely to be arrested, charged, and convicted,
but less likely to have access to good legal representation, and get out of
prison on parole.4 While there's no denying that the presence of crack has a
hugely negative impact in Black communities across the country, it's clear
that the overly harsh crack sentencing laws have done more to feed the
broken system than improve our communities.
You have to be convicted of moving roughly $75,000 worth of cocaine to
trigger a 5-year sentence.5 For crack? About $500 worth.6 These laws punish
the lowest-level dealers, while providing a loophole that helps those
running the trade escape harsh sentences.
Recently, attention has turned to these ill-conceived policies as prisons
burst at the seams with non-violent drug offenders. The U.S. Sentencing
Commission, which provides sentencing guidelines for judges, has petitioned
Congress numerous times to change the sentencing laws.7
Last year, we reached out to you when Senator Joe Biden-- one of the
original architects of the disparity-- introduced a bill that would have
finally eliminated it and ended the mandatory minimum for crack possession,
while increasing funding for drug treatment programs and providing
additional resources for going after major cocaine kingpins.8
His proposal stalled, but that same legislation is moving through Congress
again with new support, and it looks like there's a real chance it could
pass. The White House is a clear ally. President Obama has said many times
that punishment for crack and powder cocaine should be the same, 9 and Biden
is now Vice President and still an ardent advocate for getting rid of the
disparity.
But there are foes of this plan. Others want to see the disparity reduced to
20-to-1 or 10-to-1, but not eliminated. As Bill Piper of the Drug Policy
Alliance has said, that "would be like amending the Constitution's
three-fifths clause to make African-Americans fourth-fifths citizens or
desegregating 60 percent of public establishments instead of all of
them."10Members of Congress need to hear that there is strong support
for a full
elimination of the disparity, and that now's the time to support such
legislation.
We can take this opportunity to join the Sentencing Commission and countless
other advocates in calling on Congress to change this unjust law. Please
join us:
http://colorofchange.org/crack/?id=2424-711556
Thank You and Peace,
-- James, Gabriel, William, Dani, and the rest of the ColorOfChange team
April 20th, 2009
*Help support our work.* ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU--your energy
and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or corporations and our tiny
staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:
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References:
1. "1 in 100 U.S. Adults Behind Bars, New Study Says," New York Times,
02-28-08
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/28cnd-prison.html
2. "Crack/Cocaine Sentencing Disparity," Drug Policy Alliance
http://www.drugpolicy.org/drugwar/mandatorymin/crackpowder.cfm
3. "H.R. 265 - Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of
2009"
http://maplight.org/map/us/bill/79139/default/history
4. "Annotated Bibliography: Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice
System," Sentencing Project
http://tinyurl.com/d2f6tk
5. "Cocaine Price/Purity Analysis of STRIDE Data," Drug Enforcement Agency
http://www.dea.gov/concern/cocaine_prices_purity.html
6. "FAQ About Crack," Narconon
http://www.addictionca.com/FAQ-crack.htm
7.U.S. Sentencing Commission Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal
Sentencing Policy, May 2007.
http://www.ussc.gov/r_congress/cocaine2007.pdf
8. "Senate Bill Will Fix Sentencing Disparity for Crack Cocaine Possession,"
Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, 7-18-07
http://tinyurl.com/cp5gtu
9. "White House Civil Rights Agenda"
http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/civil_rights/
10. "Congress to Hold Historic Hearing Tuesday on Draconian 100-to-1
Crack/Powder Sentencing Disparity," Drug Policy Alliance, 02-25-08
http://www.drugpolicy.org/news/pressroom/pr022508.cfm
Additional resources:
"Race and the Drug War," Drug Policy Alliance
http://www.drugpolicy.org/communities/race/
"Federal Crack Cocaine Sentencing," The Sentencing Project
http://www.sentencingproject.org/PublicationDetails.aspx?PublicationID=573
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