A new crack cocaine law could see inmates leaving jail earlier than expected, at least that’s what they think.
Right now if you are busted with 50 grams of crack cocaine the mandatory is 10 years in federal prison. With the new rules, the prison sentence could cut that to as little as five years and now thousands of inmates not covered by the change are saying their sentences should be reduced also. The AP reports:
“The commission meets Wednesday in Washington to consider making the new crack sentencing guidelines retroactive, a step that could bring early release for as many as 1 in every 18 federal prisoners, or approximately 12,000 inmates.
The commission has already received more than 37,000 letters on the issue, most from inmates and their families and friends. Many of the letters are form letters drafted by interest groups such as Families Against Mandatory Minimums, but others contain personal pleas.
A woman from New York wrote to say her nephew should be “given another chance at society.” A mother from Illinois said her child was sentenced “very harshly.”
Congress and President Barack Obama agreed in August to reduce the minimum penalties for crack. But the law did not apply to prisoners who were locked up before the change.
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The Fair Sentencing Act, signed by Obama in August, attempts to remedy that disparity by changing the amount of crack cocaine required to trigger five and 10-year mandatory sentences.
Before the law was passed, a person convicted of possessing 5 grams of crack cocaine — about the weight of five packets of Sweet’n Low — automatically got sentenced to five years. Now it takes 28 grams to trigger a five-year mandatory sentence, an amount more in line with powdered cocaine.
Possessing 280 grams of crack triggers a 10-year sentence as opposed to the old standard of 50 grams — about the same weight as 10 nickels.
For the change to be made retroactive, four members of the six-member commission would have to vote to support the idea. If that happens, Congress could still reject or modify the guidelines until the end of October.
