Sentencing Times a Publication of the Sentencing Project, Washington, D.C

RESEARCH ADVOCACY POLICY OUTREACH PROFILES Sentencing Times A publication of The Sentencing Project, Washington, D.C. Fall 2009 POLICY INSIDE Interview with National Crack equalization bill passes in Public Radio.....................2 House Judiciary Sentencing Project steps up state focus ........4 The prospects for significant reform to the Marc Mauer federal crack cocaine sentencing policies speaks with Public Education............ .4 Congressman improved dramatically over the summer, Danny Davis, Supreme Court to when a bill that would equalize the penalties at the "Rethinking consider juvenile life for powder and crack cocaine offenses passed Federal Sentencing without parol e................ .5 out of the House Judiciary Committee. The Symposium" reform bill, HR 3245, was introduced by in June. Federal voting rights Congressman Bobby Scott, Chairman of the Obama’s transition committee identified act introduced ................ .5 Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and eliminating the “100 to 1” drug quantity Life sentences examined Homeland Security. disparity between crack and powder cocaine in new report ................. ..6 Since this historic vote, advocates have offenses as a top civil rights priority. been expecting Senate Judiciary Subcommittee The disparity results from a penalty Quoting The Sentencing Chairman Dick Durbin of Illinois to introduce structure in which the amount of the drug Project................. ..............6 a bipartisan bill in the Senate to reform the involved in an offense triggers a five- or ten-year mandatory minimum prison Donor Profile: current penalties. sentence. Thus, an offense involving just Rachel Porter................. ...7 “After two decades of watching the devas - tating effects of the racially biased, excessive 5 grams of crack cocaine results in the same Race and justice federal sentences for low-level crack cocaine five-year prison term as one involving 500 information clearing- offenses, we are beginning to see the light at grams of powder cocaine. The disparity house launched............. ..8 the end of the tunnel,” said Marc Mauer, disproportionately affects people from low- executive director of The Sentencing Project. income communities of color, because crack Since before the start of the new Congress is more likely to be sold in open-air drug in January, momentum on crack cocaine markets, as opposed to transactions for powder sentencing reform has been escalating. Even cocaine, which often take place behind closed before taking office in January, President doors, away from law enforcement. Crack equalization bill continued on page 4 RESEARCH Report finds first racial shift in drug war In April, The Sentencing Project Dynamics of the War on Drugs found a including in the Washington Post, New released a new report documenting that 21% decline for the period 1999 to 2005. York Times, Christian Science Monitor for the first time in the 25 years since the The study also documented a corre - and on CNN. Executive Director Marc inception of the “war on drugs,” the sponding 42% rise in the number Mauer was interviewed about the report number of African Americans incarcer - of whites in state prison for a drug on National Public Radio. Excerpts of ated in state prisons for drug offenses offense during the same period. The the interview with Michel Martin, host declined. The report, The Changing Racial report received broad news coverage of Tell Me More, are on page 2. INTERVIEW WITH NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO Changing face of the war on drugs In April, Executive Director Marc Mauer with it as a family problem, as a health problem. was interviewed about the findings of The In low-income communities, communities of The Sentencing Project Sentencing Project’s report, The Changing color, where those same resources may not be 514 Tenth Street, NW, Racial Dynamics of the War on Drugs on NPR’s available, the problem is much more likely to Suite 1000 Washington, DC 20004 Tell Me More with Michel Martin. be defined as a criminal justice problem. So 202-628-0871 telephone then we address it with police and prosecutors 202-628-1091 fax Until recently America’s war on drugs dispropor - and prisons. [email protected] tionately affected African Americans and Latinos, www.sentencingproject.org but a new study finds that this trend might be changing . But what would account then for this increase of Marc Mauer is author of the study. He’s also white prisoners? STAFF Executive Director of The Sentencing Project. Some of this may be due to methamphetamine Marc Mauer use and methamphetamine sentencing policy. Executive Director What is driving these dramatic changes? It seems At least in a handful of states in the upper Ryan King like we have been talking about these sentencing Midwest – Iowa, Minnesota, Montana – we Policy Analyst disparities for years, and it seems like a very can track increasing numbers of people going Ashley Nellis dramatic change. What’s driving it? Research Analyst to prison for meth offenses, and these people Yes, a couple of things stand out. First, are disproportionately white or Latino, Kara Gotsch Advocacy Director crime rates have generally been declining in but rarely African American. This may not Zerline Hughes recent years, so it’s possible that there’s less explain the whole national move, but at least Communications Associate law enforcement presence in some of these it tells us that often this is very localized and Terry Nixon low-income, African American communities. probably related to meth in part. Operations Manager Secondly, the crack cocaine epidemic of the Angela Boone Development Director late 80’s and early 90’s had waned by the mid You’ve talked about the role of the crack epidemic 90’s, and that’s true across all racial/ethnic and it swelling the ranks of people in prisons. Is it Serawit Mekonnen Database Manager groups. To the extent that the war on drugs your sense that this epidemic has waned, or has the Nicole Porter was so heavily prioritized on going after black law enforcement approach to it changed? State Advocacy Coordinator communities and crack cocaine, some of that It’s a mixed picture. In some ways, the local may have dropped off as well. law enforcement response may have changed. We also see some positive changes. It’s We may be seeing fewer arrests, or fewer BOARD OF DIRECTORS conceivable that some people who previously arrests of African Americans, but if you look Devon Brown might have gone to prison are now going at the federal system, which we did in the The Honorable to treatment and avoiding a prison term, report, we find that the numbers still continue Renee Cardwell-Hughes so it’s probably a combination of things to skyrocket. We find that the African American Fred Davie coming together. number of drug offenders increased by about Angela J. Davis a third, as did the white and Latino drug Just to set some parameters here, the research offenders. So, the overall state prison population John Irwin suggests that African Americans represent about for drug offenses more or less stabilized, while Laura W. Murphy 12% of the drug using population, but make up the federal prison population for drugs goes Randolph N. Stone about 45% of those who are in state prisons for up by a third. Very dramatic contrast there. Robert L. Weiss drug related offenses. Has it always been that way, as long as The Sentencing Project has been Is there anything else you want to tell us about the Marsha Weissman tracking these numbers? federal prison population? The report is mainly We’ve seen tremendous racial disparities, focused on state prisons. Interns and probably more so when it comes to drug The critical issues in the federal system are Eleanor Meyer offenses, than any other type of offense. What primarily the sentencing policies. The mandatory Ajima Olaghere we know about drug law enforcement is that sentencing policies, and especially involving it’s very discretionary. If you have a middle crack cocaine. This has been the subject of class community and parents have a kid who much controversy since 1986 when these laws has a drug problem, they don’t call up the were adopted, providing for a mandatory five police and say, “Would you please arrest my years in prison for possessing as little as five kid?” They instead get their kid into the best grams of crack cocaine, the weight of about © 2009 The Sentencing Project treatment program they can find. They deal Changing face of the war on drugs continued on page 3 2 Sentencing Times Fall 2009 Changing face of the war on drugs continued from page 2 than 40% of all 1.8 million drug offenses two sugar packets. Two years ago, the U.S. each year are for marijuana, and most of Public Education Sentencing Commission adjusted its guide - those are for possession. In terms of how law The Sentencing Project lines to reduce the crack sentences somewhat, enforcement and court resources are being has made presentations but the critical issue is still the mandatory used, we’re spending billions of dollars to the following organiza - sentences that are driving these policies. There processing what most people would agree tions and institutions is now increasing momentum in Congress to is the less severe type of drug case. One may this year: reconsider, possibly to equalize the penalties think marijuana is a good drug or a bad drug, between crack cocaine and powder. but no one would question that it’s less harmful than heroin, crack and cocaine. Speaking Engagements There are those of course who would argue that the American Bar Association reason the crime rate has dropped as dramatically You’ve made the argument that incarceration policies American Constitution as it has over the years, is that a lot of these people really don’t have much effect on crime.

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