Crack Cocaine Sentencing
Guidelines Reduced: Rodney
Brown
According to government statistics over 80 percent of those convicted for crack offenses in 2007 were African Americans. Under The Rockefeller Drug Laws, the penalty for 56 grams (2 ounces) or more of heroin, morphine, "raw or prepared," opium, cocaine was a minimum of 15 years to life in prison and a maximum of 25 years to life in prison. On April 02, 2010 the New York State Legislature passed legislation that would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences and restored authority to judges to send many drug offenders to treatment programs; instead of jail. The Rockefeller Drug Laws was seen as the harshest in the nation. "I can't think of a criminal justice strategy that has been more unsuccessful than The Rockefeller Drug Laws," said David Patterson, Governor of New York. The New York Civil Liberties Union (NYCLU) said reforming The Rockefeller Drug Laws were a major step toward ending a disastrous policy that has ruined lives, torn apart families and caused enormous inequalities. On Tuesday President Obama signed into law, a bill reforming Federal Crack Sentencing Laws that subjected a disproportionate number of blacks to lengthy prison terms, while offering more lenient punishment to users and sellers of powder cocaine, who are more often white. Under the Federal Crack Sentencing Laws, possession of 5 grams of crack mandated a minimum five-year prison sentence. The same mandatory sentence is handed down to a person convicted of trafficking 500 grams (18 ounces) of powder cocaine. "The current Federal Crack Sentencing Laws, disproportionately filled our prisons with young black and Latino drug users," said Obama. The Obama Administration is also seeking to increase drug treatment, as well as rehabilitation programs for felons after they're released from prison. Over the years there has been a tremendous push to change the punitive aspects of current drug policies that criminalizes low-level offenders. Advocates and independent organizations in support of decriminalizing drug laws are holding forums with urban residents throughout the state. Earlier in the week, Syracuse University's College of Human Ecology in collaboration with the New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) and Families Rally for Emancipation and Empowerment (FREE) hosted a community forum on public health and safety approach for drug policy in New York. The forum took placed in the Syracuse University's Schine Student Center. The forum was one of several statewide community dialogues to assist in providing a blueprint for a public health and safety approach to drug policy in New York State. Issues included how drug use and our current responses affect communities? Families and individuals, and how the policies can be improved? Members of the community were invited and encouraged to attend to assist in defining a public health approach to drug policy as well as indentifying the key problems, issues and policy barriers facing communities and individuals affected by drug use across New York State. The forum aim is to indentify effective strategies for moving towards a public heath approach and develop a policy agenda for the aligning existing policies. According
to Dessa Bergen-Cico, Assistant Professor, Department of Health and Wellness,
"Harmful drug use remains one of New York's most difficult public health
problems. "It affects every segment of society impacting individuals, families
and communities," Cico said. "Despite recent reforms to the state's
Rockefeller Drug Laws, we need community input to help inform the next stages
in policy reform. Community reforms like this one will help develop a public health
and safety approach to drug policy for New York. Meeks noted the great majority of those who resort to selling drugs do so because they're no jobs in their communities. She added, when they are imprisoned and released their criminal records further limits chances of employment which increases the rate of recidivism. "These are important factors that are not discussed when legislators draft drug policies, she said. Martin noted current drug policies don't take into account the economic health of the community when a number of residents are imprisoned. "When the focus is solely based on locking up offenders, the workforce in the community is depleted," Martin said. "If you wipe out the workforce, how can the community grow? "Our nation's prisons are crowed with people that need drug addiction treatment not jail," Martin added. "It's imperative that health initiatives become a part of the discussion." The NYAM documents the concerns and grievances of residents at the forums without interjecting. "We are not there to provide solutions but record the ideas and take into consideration all we've heard and incorporate them into a comprehensive drug plan," Meeks said. "We will then make assessments of what we'd heard and make recommendation to policy makers in January 2011." Marion Rodriguez, Steering Committee member of FREE urges people in their communities to become more proactive. "We are a grassroots community organization," Rodriguez said. "We interact with drug users, drug dealers and seek to help families of people in prison. We all have to recognize our personal gifts and share them with our neighbors." In addition she noted people can provoke change personally and socially. The
NYAM encourages any person, in any community to attend their forums. "Anyone
that's concern about drugs in the State of New York please participate,"
said Martin. |