Author Topic: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early  (Read 319 times)

Elano

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Just after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (7-2) Monday that federal judges can use their discretion when giving shorter prison sentences in order to reduce the disparity between crack and powder cocaine, the U.S. Sentencing Commission (USSC) decided today (Dec 12) to make the new sentencing laws retroactive.


Street pharmacists and social activists have been reporting racial injustice since 1986 and 1988 when a federal sentencing law created a 100:1 ratio between crack and powder cocaine in order to activate certain mandatory minimum sentences for dealing and possession.


Federal law required a crack dealer (mostly African Americans) to serve a minimum of five years in prison for selling 5 grams of crack cocaine while a powder cocaine dealer would have to sell 500 grams to trigger the same sentence.


As of November 1, first-time offenders caught with 5 grams of crack cocaine will receive 51 to 63 months, whereas the old law mandated 63 to 78 months and first-time offenders possessing 50 grams now get 97 to 121 months, down from 121 to 151 months.


According to the Commission, approximately 86 percent of inmates affected by the new law are black, 94 percent are men. The Commission’s decision to make the new law retroactive affects almost 19,500 prisoners.


The mandatory crack cocaine sentencing laws were created based upon what the Sentencing Project believes was sensationalized portrayals of crack, stating that it is a violence-inducing drug that was 50 times more addictive. The Sentencing Project reports, in fact, that the physiological effects of all types of cocaine are the same.


The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) says that thousands of offenders who were harshly sentenced can now have their case reviewed in court. Jesselyn McCurdy, legislative counsel for the ACLU Washington Legislative Office, said that the USSC’s decision “to apply the guidelines retroactively means justice for offenders sentenced under the previous guidelines, who may no longer have to serve more time than required by law.”


The Supreme Court’s ruling in Kimbrough v. U.S, which centered around Derrick Kimbrough’s 15-year sentence for distributing 50 grams of crack cocaine when the sentencing guidelines mandated 19-22 year, showed that judges can disagree with the 100 to 1 disparity between crack and powder cocaine by sentencing offenders below the guidelines. 
 

boycriedwolf619

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #1 on: December 17, 2007, 02:54:37 PM »
this is actually a good post. I read about this couple of days ago. Now that I think about it, the people who will get released depending on how old they are, will probably just end back up in jail. With no work experience and all that stuff, its going to be real tough and being Black too.
 

Tay

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #2 on: December 18, 2007, 12:34:45 AM »
^^Very true..The Corrections system is bullshit, is doesn't help to rehabilitate or do anything positive. You go away for a few years, hanging around a place where gangs rule, your behaviors become worse, you are treated like shit, and then you get released with nothing. You are already several steps behind and not used to dealing with people, and nobody wants to hire an ex-convict. So what life do they have to go back to?? Same shit that got them in prison in the first place. The rules about crack are bullshit, it is worse as a rock-form instead of base cocaine, but that was targeted to get the black drug dealers.
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boycriedwolf619

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #3 on: December 18, 2007, 08:14:07 AM »
^^Very true..The Corrections system is bullshit, is doesn't help to rehabilitate or do anything positive. You go away for a few years, hanging around a place where gangs rule, your behaviors become worse, you are treated like shit, and then you get released with nothing. You are already several steps behind and not used to dealing with people, and nobody wants to hire an ex-convict. So what life do they have to go back to?? Same shit that got them in prison in the first place. The rules about crack are bullshit, it is worse as a rock-form instead of base cocaine, but that was targeted to get the black drug dealers.
Yup, SHALLOW I don't want to even hear you try to deny that either with you bullshit. You ever hear of that dude, Pastor G, who started 'Home Boy Industries'? It's supposed to be a job for gang bangers?
 

Tay

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #4 on: December 18, 2007, 07:24:36 PM »
Yeah, that's good to see stuff like that. People look at felons like they are these horrible people, and a lot of them are. But a lot of them are normal people, that we went to school with, worked with, and got caught up doing stupid shit, mixed with the wrong people, and their behavior got worse. I was just having this conversation with my friend last week because he told me one of our friends from high school got arrested for selling coke.
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Machiavelli

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #5 on: December 18, 2007, 10:03:37 PM »
legalize drugs...saves this whole problem
 

herpes

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #6 on: December 19, 2007, 05:27:19 PM »
legalize drugs...saves this whole problem

so we can have crackheads running around...I don't care if you say it will be gov't regulated this that and the other.  Anyone who says shit like this does not remember the crack era or grew up around it.
 

Tay

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2007, 06:45:16 PM »
^^Foreal, if you have ever seen anybody on crack, heroin, or crank, you know why it is not legal. Those are horrible drugs, that shit is no joke.
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Machiavelli

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2007, 07:55:50 PM »
^^Foreal, if you have ever seen anybody on crack, heroin, or crank, you know why it is not legal. Those are horrible drugs, that shit is no joke.

It's just drugs, sure their harsh and fuck people up but thats their fault and if they do anything violent they should be punished ...theres no where in the consitition that says gov should make drugs illegal, people should have the right...I believe states should make their own laws, but personally with legalized drugs people will become more educated about its effects which will lower usage. It's like alcohol and ciggs those are legal...But crime will def go down
« Last Edit: December 19, 2007, 07:57:33 PM by Machiavelli »
 

herpes

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #9 on: December 19, 2007, 08:05:12 PM »
^^Foreal, if you have ever seen anybody on crack, heroin, or crank, you know why it is not legal. Those are horrible drugs, that shit is no joke.

It's just drugs, sure their harsh and fuck people up but thats their fault and if they do anything violent they should be punished ...theres no where in the consitition that says gov should make drugs illegal, people should have the right...I believe states should make their own laws, but personally with legalized drugs people will become more educated about its effects which will lower usage. It's like alcohol and ciggs those are legal...But crime will def go down

Yea you never grew up around crack.  Yeah they only ruin there own lives.  What about all the kids out there that have no hope in life b/c there parents were junkies.  Or the families destroyed because one family member became a junkie.  If people are educated how heroin use is on the rise.  How come pills are quickly becoming the most popular drug among teens.  Have you ever seen a neighborhood destroyed by drugs ?  Not all the neighborhoods destroyed by drugs are because of murder and crime.  There were a shit load of neighborhoods in NY that turned to shit b/c of crack.  And it wasn't because of dealers on the corner or murders.  It was b/c half the kids in that neighborhood became junkies.  So most of the people in those neighborhoods are clean but they are to suffer for it ?  You want to see the effects of drugs come to a fucking crack neighborhood and see what it does.
 

Machiavelli

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #10 on: December 19, 2007, 08:51:31 PM »
^^Foreal, if you have ever seen anybody on crack, heroin, or crank, you know why it is not legal. Those are horrible drugs, that shit is no joke.

It's just drugs, sure their harsh and fuck people up but thats their fault and if they do anything violent they should be punished ...theres no where in the consitition that says gov should make drugs illegal, people should have the right...I believe states should make their own laws, but personally with legalized drugs people will become more educated about its effects which will lower usage. It's like alcohol and ciggs those are legal...But crime will def go down

Yea you never grew up around crack.  Yeah they only ruin there own lives.  What about all the kids out there that have no hope in life b/c there parents were junkies.  Or the families destroyed because one family member became a junkie.  If people are educated how heroin use is on the rise.  How come pills are quickly becoming the most popular drug among teens.  Have you ever seen a neighborhood destroyed by drugs ?  Not all the neighborhoods destroyed by drugs are because of murder and crime.  There were a shit load of neighborhoods in NY that turned to shit b/c of crack.  And it wasn't because of dealers on the corner or murders.  It was b/c half the kids in that neighborhood became junkies.  So most of the people in those neighborhoods are clean but they are to suffer for it ?  You want to see the effects of drugs come to a fucking crack neighborhood and see what it does.

im not denying that drugs, mainly crack ruin peoples lives, but do you think legalizing drugs would make it worse. Think about it...

right now its illegal, but its not like its NOT easily accessible to the public, so theres always gunna be junkies.  At least if it was legal crime in general would go down, thats the main point.

Education about drug use would be more avaliable, and usage would go down I believe not more usage.
 

EXPOSEPONCESENT

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #11 on: December 20, 2007, 12:39:12 PM »
its about time they eased up on federal drug laws, that shit is wiping out a whole generation of black an latino brothers an sisters off the fucking map, its ridiculous, the gentrification going on in the hood, the AIDS epidemic, the stupid childish fucking gun laws, police brutality, there trying to wipe out my people, fuck the system, brothers an sisters are just trying to survive an feed there families, its about time they ease up those stupid drug laws

Joseph Bonanno

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Re: U.S. Sentencing Commission’s Ruling May Let Crack Dealers Out Early
« Reply #12 on: December 20, 2007, 08:04:24 PM »
this is good news. most are black so the only real criminals are the government. blacks shouldnt be allowed to take responsibility for their own lives