July 23, 1997

Editorial: Fairer Sentences in Prospect
Reno and McCaffrey finally back reform in the crack/powder issue

After far too long and far too much posturing, Atty. Gen. Janet
Reno and the White House drug policy director have stood
up for fairer penalties for cocaine possession. Tuesday, President
Clinton embraced their recommendation to reduce the unwarranted
disparity between the sentences for possession of crack cocaine
and possession of powder cocaine. Now the question is will
Congress have the common sense to follow suit.
Under federal law in effect for more than a decade, anyone
convicted of possessing 5 grams of crack receives a mandatory
minimum of five years in prison. To trigger the same fiveyear
sentence for powder cocaine possession the level is 500 grams.
The sentencing law was Congress' response to escalating drug
use during the early 1980s, and the 100to1 disparity sprang from
concern about the violence associated with the crack trade. But this
policy has produced unintended results and has few strong
defenders now. It often punishes lowlevel pushers just as harshly
as the highlevel dealers who profit enormously from the street
trade. One result is that 20% of all federal prison cells are now
occupied by lowlevel drug criminals, most with no record of
violence.
The mandatory minimums also present a distasteful sign of racial
inequity. About 96% of those prosecuted for crack possession are
blacks or Latinos, according to federal statistics. The U.S. Supreme
Court last year rejected a claim by five African Americans that
prosecution under the law was racially biased, but that perception
lingers. And with good reason.
The U.S. Sentencing Commission, created by Congress in 1985
to develop a more uniform policy, tried last year to remedy this
situation, but the effort was blocked by the administration, wary of
being labeled soft on crime in an election year. The panel tried again
in April, this time proposing to reduce but not eliminate the
disparity.
The recommendation from Reno and drug czar Barry
McCaffrey follows the commission's approach. If adopted by
Congress, it would apply the fiveyear mandatory prison sentence
to those possessing 25 grams of crack or 250 grams of powder
cocaine. This 10to1 disparity is still not desirable. Simple
possession of cocaine in any form should be punished equally. But
Reno and McCaffrey's plan is nonetheless a welcome signal that
some good sense may be returning to the drug wars. Congress
should take note.

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