Data Show Racial Disparity in Crack Sentencing

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Be that as it may, The "FAIR SENTENCING ACT" does not protect African Americans from being sentenced outrageously. It is proven that African Americans are given harsher punishment than that of their counterparts. It is also proven that African Americans are more likely to be victims of such disparities due to our " Judicial System". We must taken into consideration that its not the African Americans that transport this garbage into the USA, nor is it them who smuggle this garbage from Coast-to Coast, however it is them who get the harsher more unfair punishments than those who is really the guilty. When it comes to our "Fair Sentencing Act" policy I believe that it should have been ammended long time ago if not abolished all together. IT Not Fair.

Susan Myers of SC 4:06PM November 02, 2011

Be that as it may, The "FAIR SENTENCING ACT" does not protect African Americans from being sentenced outrageously. It is proven that African Americans are given harsher punishment than that of their counterparts. It is also proven that African Americans are more likely to be victims of such disparities due to our " Judicial System". We must taken into consideration that its not the African Americans that transport this garbage into the USA, nor is it them who smuggle this garbage from Coast-to Coast, however it is them who get the harsher more unfair punishments than those who is really the guilty. When it comes to our "Fair Sentencing Act" policy I believe that it should have been ammended long time ago if not abolished all together. IT Not Fair.

Susan Myers of SC 4:05PM November 02, 2011

Look Folks,
I was robbed at gunpoint and then pistol whipped in a grocery store parking lot by a 17-year-old black teen, which, when he was later apprehended, was in possession of crack cocaine and a crack pipe. It took 46 stiches to sew up the four gashes that he put in my head from repeated strikes of the weapon and all I did was hand over my wallet and watch as soon as he pulled the gun on me. The man was out of his mind and it was because he had been smoking crack cocaine (asserted at his trial). The rapid uptake of crack cocaine into the brain compared to powder cocaine has so much of a higher likelihood to make people snap into a violent psychosis – According to this article, a 13% higher probability associated with crack cocaine vs. powder cocaine.
For those of you who feel grateful in that somehow we have reduced some of the black man’s burden as it relates to ratio of incarcerations of blacks to whites, just wait until you are on the wrong side of a gun being pointed in your face and being beaten by it by a crazed man who has no grip on his own humanity. I used to give to the NAACP and now I give to the NRA because of people like you that believe that because of the color of one’s skin, we have to relax the rules in order to be fair to minorities.
For all you people that are so grateful for our nation's leadership evening out the disparity between blacks and whites,
Hey, I grew up in an urban area, and I didn't

Dan of MO 12:44AM April 20, 2011

I am grateful to Congress and President Obama for cleaning up an injustice. Let's do the math...shall we?
79 percent of 5,669 sentenced crack offenders in 2009 were black, versus 10 percent who were white and 10 percent who were Hispanic.
Traditionally and historically who purchases powder cocaine-Whites!
Traditionally and historically who purchases crack-cocaine? Blacks!
Both are crimes but the majority of Blacks had to do more time.
Now...let's remove the race issue and think. If your precious child and the boy across the street, committed the same crime and your son had a mandatory sentence to be jailed 5 years of his life and the boy across the street, got off with 1 year of parole, would you think that was fair? Hmmm. Just think about it!

TFM of NC 9:07PM April 11, 2011

The laws should be the same but why make one law easier on the criminals. How about this why not make the law for powder cocaine as strict as the law on crack was. Every time something happens it is racism, here you go crack heads, smoke up you will not have to face as much time now.

Dave of DE 11:57AM March 13, 2011

Thank you President Obama and Congress! This Act is fair, and more just. These types of drugs hurt our society overall. I am also for tough laws for the people who are behind the drugs coming into the Country and even using the death penalty expediently to deter these folks. This would help prevent harm to a larger population of society who are impacted when family members are hurt or killed by people under the influence of these types of drugs.

Citizen of GA 10:18AM August 04, 2010

Everytime I turn around I here race as a primary motivtor. It was not the issue was monetary status whether black or white crack affected people with lower incomes. Blacks are not alone in this area so why is everyone so quick to call race. Only because it attracts attention.
Judges, Congressman, use cocain they can afford it. That was and is the only reason their was a differnt sentencing guide line. Though what should happen is the powdered cocain should be as sever as the crack in punishment dont make them lighter

Jerry linster of NY 8:12AM August 04, 2010

By amphibole, I meant amphiboly, and by amphiboly, I meant equivocation. Stupid spellcheck and stupid not remembering my logical fallacies properly...

Jamaal of IL 5:12PM August 03, 2010

I hate it when things like this get passed (also like the healthcare bill) because now that sentencing has been declared "fair" we won't have to examine the law for years again.
Also. it's a bit of an amphibole to say that the sentencing disparity has gone from 100:1 to 18:1 (even though that's the official line.) The disparity in _weight_ that sorts you into a class of minimum sentences (5-year or 10-year) has been reduced from 100:1 to 18:1. This number is meaningless unless we know the distribution of typical weights of drugs that people are sentenced for.
By that, I mean that if people are rarely busted for less than 28 grams, this "fair sentencing" will rarely make any difference in the massive disparity in sentences. To trigger 5-year mandatory minimums for cocaine, you need to have 500 grams, or 1.1 POUNDS of cocaine. For crack, you only have to have a single ounce. This is _after_ fair sentencing.
How many crack dealers are there who have less than an ounce, and how many coke dealers are holding more than 1.1 pounds? This is a load, and it would have been better if nothing had been done. It's a lot like institutionalized racism: still fully in existence with no signs of abating, we're just more comfortable with it now.

Jamaal of IL 5:09PM August 03, 2010