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You can help address racial biases in federal prosecutions. Click here
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New at The Sentencing Project
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July 02, 2009
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Disenfranchisement News
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National: NAACP Endorses Democracy Restoration Act
National: First-time Voters' Thoughts Archived in New Publication
National: Updated Book Chronicles Voting Rights from George W. Bush to President Obama
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National: NAACP Endorses Democracy Restoration Act
National: First-time Voters' Thoughts Archived in New Publication
National: Updated Book Chronicles Voting Rights from George W. Bush to President Obama
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July 01, 2009
(Longview News-Journal)
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Texas newspaper supports elimination of crack cocaine sentencing disparity
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A Texas newspaper published an editorial supporting the reform of harsh crack cocaine sentencing laws stating, “our hope is that this growing rebellion among federal judges will spur Congress to act and reduce mandatory penalties for crack cocaine, so that its users aren't treated any differently than those who use powder cocaine.” The Longview News-Journal editorial board argued that there is an “element of racism, even if it is unintended” in the sentencing which sends someone accused of selling five grams of crack to prison for five years while the same term is given to someone convicted of selling 500 grams of powder cocaine.
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A Texas newspaper published an editorial supporting the reform of harsh crack cocaine sentencing laws stating, “our hope is that this growing rebellion among federal judges will spur Congress to act and reduce mandatory penalties for crack cocaine, so that its users aren't treated any differently than those who use powder cocaine.” The Longview News-Journal editorial board argued that there is an “element of racism, even if it is unintended” in the sentencing which sends someone accused of selling five grams of crack to prison for five years while the same term is given to someone convicted of selling 500 grams of powder cocaine.
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June 29, 2009
(Washington Post)
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Two Judges Target Cocaine Penalties: Disparity for Crack Crimes Criticized
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“Federal judges are beginning to equalize punishment for crack and powder cocaine crimes, resulting in shorter prison terms for crack dealers and putting pressure on Congress to address a wide disparity in how the legal system handles cocaine-related offenses. In two recent rulings and interviews, a federal judge in the District and one in Iowa said they had policy differences with Congress and a judicial commission that they said did not go far enough to change the guidelines for crack sentences in 2007.”
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“Federal judges are beginning to equalize punishment for crack and powder cocaine crimes, resulting in shorter prison terms for crack dealers and putting pressure on Congress to address a wide disparity in how the legal system handles cocaine-related offenses. In two recent rulings and interviews, a federal judge in the District and one in Iowa said they had policy differences with Congress and a judicial commission that they said did not go far enough to change the guidelines for crack sentences in 2007.”
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June 27, 2009
(Jurist)
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Support for crack cocaine sentencing reform signals more rational approach to public safety
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On the heels of participating in an historic event hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus, a Symposium on the 25th Anniversary of the Sentencing Reform Act where Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and Attorney General Eric Holder addressed a standing-room only crowd, Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, submitted commentary on Holder's support for eliminating the federal crack cocaine sentencing disparity. In the University of Pittsburgh School of Law's blog, Jurist, Mauer states that Holder's ongoing, public endorsement “was the most high-profile indication of the Administration's support for fundamental change in this shameful 23-year-old policy, and an indication that a change in these policies may finally be possible.”
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On the heels of participating in an historic event hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus, a Symposium on the 25th Anniversary of the Sentencing Reform Act where Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and Attorney General Eric Holder addressed a standing-room only crowd, Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, submitted commentary on Holder's support for eliminating the federal crack cocaine sentencing disparity. In the University of Pittsburgh School of Law's blog, Jurist, Mauer states that Holder's ongoing, public endorsement “was the most high-profile indication of the Administration's support for fundamental change in this shameful 23-year-old policy, and an indication that a change in these policies may finally be possible.”
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June 26, 2009
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Disenfranchisement News
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TAKE ACTION: Add Your Organization to a Sign-on Letter in Support of the Democracy Restoration Act
National: Department of Justice Makes Available State-specific Tools on Rights Restoration
Alabama: Inmates Prepare for Municipal Election
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TAKE ACTION: Add Your Organization to a Sign-on Letter in Support of the Democracy Restoration Act
National: Department of Justice Makes Available State-specific Tools on Rights Restoration
Alabama: Inmates Prepare for Municipal Election
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June 25, 2009
(Associated Press)
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Attorney general wants review of cocaine sentences
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 During a panel discussion featuring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and Attorney General Eric Holder, yesterday, Holder continued to support the administration's stance on eliminating the gap in prison sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses.
"One thing is very clear: We must review our federal cocaine sentencing policy," Holder said during the Congressional Black Caucus “Rethinking Federal Sentencing Policies” panel that also featured The Sentencing Project's Executive Director, Marc Mauer, and a host of other criminal justice reform experts.
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During a panel discussion featuring Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer and Attorney General Eric Holder, yesterday, Holder continued to support the administration's stance on eliminating the gap in prison sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses.
"One thing is very clear: We must review our federal cocaine sentencing policy," Holder said during the Congressional Black Caucus “Rethinking Federal Sentencing Policies” panel that also featured The Sentencing Project's Executive Director, Marc Mauer, and a host of other criminal justice reform experts.
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June 24, 2009
(New York)
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New York Times editorial on prison rape: “Minimize these savage and traumatic assaults”
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Editorializing on the issue of prison rape and a newly published report uncovering the reality of abuse occurring in prisons, the New York Times stated federal and state prisons must make it easier for inmates to report incidents of rape and adopt written, zero-tolerance policies on the issue. The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission report draws on a federal survey of more than 63,000 state and federal inmates, which found that 4.5 percent of those surveyed reported being sexually abused at least once during the previous 12 months. The Justice Department survey estimated that there were at least 60,000 rapes of prisoners nationally during this period.
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Editorializing on the issue of prison rape and a newly published report uncovering the reality of abuse occurring in prisons, the New York Times stated federal and state prisons must make it easier for inmates to report incidents of rape and adopt written, zero-tolerance policies on the issue. The National Prison Rape Elimination Commission report draws on a federal survey of more than 63,000 state and federal inmates, which found that 4.5 percent of those surveyed reported being sexually abused at least once during the previous 12 months. The Justice Department survey estimated that there were at least 60,000 rapes of prisoners nationally during this period.
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June 23, 2009
(National Public Radio's "Tell Me More")
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Incarcerated Women Face Hurdles Re-Entering Society
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“The number of incarcerated women in the U.S. has risen dramatically in recent years. According to federal figures, about 207,000 women were held in prisons or jails last year, an increase of a third since the year 2000. Joanne Archibald, who was incarcerated as a young woman on drug charges; Gretchen Rohr, a lawyer who works for a non-profit group in Washington, D.C. and Sedrena Guy, who recently left prison, discuss women re-entering society after being incarcerated.”
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“The number of incarcerated women in the U.S. has risen dramatically in recent years. According to federal figures, about 207,000 women were held in prisons or jails last year, an increase of a third since the year 2000. Joanne Archibald, who was incarcerated as a young woman on drug charges; Gretchen Rohr, a lawyer who works for a non-profit group in Washington, D.C. and Sedrena Guy, who recently left prison, discuss women re-entering society after being incarcerated.”
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June 23, 2009
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Attorney General Eric Holder Says Sentencing Disparity is "Simply Wrong"
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Attorney General Eric Holder offered remarks at the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals on June 19 which reiterated the administration's stance that the 100 to 1 crack cocaine sentencing disparity is “simply wrong.”
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Attorney General Eric Holder offered remarks at the Washington, D.C. Court of Appeals on June 19 which reiterated the administration's stance that the 100 to 1 crack cocaine sentencing disparity is “simply wrong.”
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June 22, 2009
(Essence, CNN)
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For the Sake of My Daughter
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NAACP President Benjamin Jealous writes in an Essence magazine commentary that his three-year-old daughter has a low chance of marrying a black man because one in every ten black men between ages 25 and 29 is incarcerated. “… I do want her to have a choice of African-American men. The disproportionate number of black men swept into the prison system threatens that hope,” writes Jealous. He states that the justice system targets African Americans and treats them more harshly for drug offenses and points out that treatment makes more sense than incarceration.
“Changing this paradigm is our moral responsibility and it's fiscally smart. It is cheaper to send nonviolent drug offenders to a drug treatment facility where they can get help than send them to prison. This is a perfect storm for change, a rare confluence of moral imperative and fiscal necessity. The economic and political shifts in our country have opened the door to advance policies that we thought would take decades to push through.”
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NAACP President Benjamin Jealous writes in an Essence magazine commentary that his three-year-old daughter has a low chance of marrying a black man because one in every ten black men between ages 25 and 29 is incarcerated. “… I do want her to have a choice of African-American men. The disproportionate number of black men swept into the prison system threatens that hope,” writes Jealous. He states that the justice system targets African Americans and treats them more harshly for drug offenses and points out that treatment makes more sense than incarceration.
“Changing this paradigm is our moral responsibility and it's fiscally smart. It is cheaper to send nonviolent drug offenders to a drug treatment facility where they can get help than send them to prison. This is a perfect storm for change, a rare confluence of moral imperative and fiscal necessity. The economic and political shifts in our country have opened the door to advance policies that we thought would take decades to push through.”
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NexT >>
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