GOP Bill Addresses Crack Sentencing Disparity January 15, 2002
News Summary
Republican senators Jeff Sessions of Alabama and Orrin Hatch of Utah have introduced a bill that would partially close the gap in criminal penalties that apply to crack and powder cocaine offenses, the Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 14.Under current law, a person caught with five grams of crack receives a five-year prison sentence, while someone would have to possess 500 grams of powdered cocaine to receive the same sentence. The Sessions-Hatch bill would raise the crack sentencing amount to 20 grams and lower the powder amount to 400 grams.
Many see the disparity in the law as a racial issue, since crack is more prevalent in African-American communities.
"Unfortunately, we have to put people in jail to preserve a safe society," Sessions said. "But we don't need people in jail longer than necessary to accomplish that goal. The bill doesn't undermine the sentencing guideline structure, but, in fact, strengthens it because it makes it more rational and effective."
The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which sets guidelines for federal sentences, also has begun reviewing sentencing rules for crack and powder cocaine. Some Senate Democrats said that Sessions and Hatch should have waited for the analysis from the Sentencing Commission before introducing their bill. "We were hoping to look at the whole thing before deciding what legislative step to take," one Democratic staffer said.
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