Bill Eliminates Unjust Crack Sentencing Disparity

Summary

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"Over the past 15 years, all of the myths justifying heightened penalties for crack have been debunked," said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU Washington Legislative. "The biggest difference between crack and powder cocaine is the skin color of those arrested. In comparison to powder cocaine, crack was previously believed to be instantly addicting, producing a generation of dependent-for-life 'crack babies' and leading to violent behavior, but we now know that powder cocaine and crack cocaine have the same effect on users. The law must catch up to the research. Congress must eliminate the statutory 100-to-1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine."

The White House website lists the complete elimination of the disparity as a civil rights priority. [...] the U.S. Sentencing Commission has recommended repeatedly that Congress should address the crack disparity.

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Bill Eliminates Unjust Crack Sentencing Disparity

Advocates from the American Civil Liberties Union and other civil rights and religious organizations walked the halls of Congress ...

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