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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
CONTACT: Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) |
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FAMM Urges Congress To Pass Legislation To Remedy Crack Penalty Unfairness
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WASHINGTON, DC - February 12 - In written testimony today to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Drugs, Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM) commended the subcommittee for taking on the crack cocaine sentencing laws and urged Congress to pass legislation to remedy the unwarranted and insupportable crack penalty, which has been law since 1986. The infamous “100:1 sentencing ratio” dictates that crack defendants receive mandatory minimum sentences identical to powder defendants convicted with 100 times as much drug. As little as five grams of crack cocaine triggers the same five-year sentence as 500 grams of powder cocaine although the two drugs are virtually identical in all important respects. The following can be attributed to FAMM president and founder Julie Stewart: “FAMM commends the subcommittee for its decision to take a fresh look at the sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine. This hearing gives new hope to thousands, including many of our members, who have loved ones serving harsh sentences for low-level, nonviolent drug offenses. FAMM does not oppose punishment; we oppose punishment that is excessive. We do so as a matter of principle but also because we represent prisoners and their loved ones who suffer the most personal consequences that result from unjust sentencing policies. At the heart of this debate are people serving long sentences away from their families and loved ones. “Two decades ago little was known about crack cocaine. Assumptions about the drug drove Congress to adopt a particularly harsh sentencing structure for crack cocaine when it established new, nonparolable mandatory minimums for a host of drug offenses in the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. Now, 22 years later, those perceptions have been repeatedly disproven and discredited. “Not only is the crack penalty unwarranted and insupportable, it has also caused great harm. As a sentencing system it punishes small time users and dealers the same or worse than international drug kingpins. Moreover, it does so in a way that is discriminatory. The majority of people arrested, convicted and sentenced on crack cocaine charges are African American. They serve sentences that are on average 37 months longer than those sentenced for powder cocaine offenses. The end result is not safer streets and drug-free cities, but devastated families and broken, suspicious communities. “The science, the public, the courts and even the politics support change. FAMM urges the Congress to pass legislation to remedy the insupportable disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences.” FAMM is a national nonprofit, nonpartisan organization whose mission is to promote fair and proportionate sentencing policies and to challenge inflexible and excessive penalties required by mandatory sentencing laws. Visit www.famm.org to read Stewart's testimony to the subcommittee and for background information on mandatory sentencing laws. To speak to a FAMM spokesperson, please contact Monica Pratt Raffanel at media@famm.org.### |
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