MAKE THE FIGHT AGAINST COCAINE MORE EFFECTIVE
4/12/2007
Dear friends,
As we struggle to stop the flood of cocaine that is poisoning so many
lives in the United States, we need a more rational division of the work of
apprehending and prosecuting those who traffic in cocaine. Local and state
authorities have the ability to deal with users and moderate level dealers.
What they don't have are the resources to stop the large and violent
networks that move mega shipments into and throughout the country.
In Congress, the legislative struggle has been focused on how to
eliminate the unfairness of the current 100 to 1 disparity in sentences
between crack and powder cocaine. This disparity, which is not based on any
chemical difference between the two forms of cocaine, has resulted in far
more African Americans going to prison, because crack is the form of cocaine
generally preferred by blacks more than powder cocaine, which is the choice
for more whites. I wrote about the crack/powder disparity in the Justice
eReport of January 11th.
As important as the sentencing disparity is, another important issue
is the lack of focus on the big cocaine traffickers by the federal
government. According to an analysis by the Criminal Justice Policy
Foundation only 7 percent of federal cocaine cases are directed at high
level traffickers. Instead federal authorities squander huge amounts of
resources on small cogs in the cocaine distribution network: one third of
all federal cocaine cases involve an average of 52 grams - the weight of a
candy bar. This is a terrible misuse of the time and talent of federal law
enforcement and prosecutors. Plus, it has clogged the federal courts with
cases that can easily be handled by the states. If we are to stop the flood
of cocaine coming into the country, federal law enforcement should be
focused on high-level traffickers.
These mega traffickers should be sent to prison for a long time, and
if they use violence in their distribution, they should serve even longer
sentences, consecutive to the time they serve for mega trafficking.
The federal law would then have 3 classifications:
1) Mega traffickers who use violence;
2) Mega traffickers; and
3) Small bit players.
To accomplish this Congress should:
1.. Create a 20-year minimum for major traffickers with no
differentiation between powder and crack cocaine;
2.. Keep the 10-year minimum, with no differentiation between powder
and crack cocaine; and
3.. Allow for judicial discretion for amounts under the 10-year
minimum, subject to the guidelines, but with no mandated minimum.
Federal resources would be focused on the networks that bring in
boatloads of cocaine, and on people who shoot and kill - the large and
violent operators that the local and state authorities cannot effectively
combat. This would be good for the taxpayers, and more effective in stopping
the flow of cocaine.
In His service,
Pat Nolan
President, Justice Fellowship
Resources
Getting Justice Off Its Junk Food Diet, The Criminal Justice Policy
Foundation
Previous Justice eReport "Cracked" Sentencing System for Cocaine Needs to be
Fixed"
Justice Fellowship Resource Page on Mandatory Minimums
Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM)
Binding Discretion: An Overview of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
Justice Fellowship, 2006
News
Ex-FBI Chief: Relax Delaware Drug Sentence Laws, April 3, 2007
Congress Should Listen To the Judges on Mandatory Sentencing, March 28, 2007
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