News
Cocaine Sentencing Disparity Cut By Congress
A vote on Wednesday by Congress can ease some of the burden of Blacks in prison for crack cocaine.
By: Jasmine Lowe
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Wed, 07/28/2010 - 12:36
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Votes
A gap between the sentences for offenders caught with crack cocaine versus the dug in powder form are expected to narrow after the vote on Wednesday by the U.S. Congress.
Offenders caught with crack cocaine were primarily blamed on the African American community and were also imprisoned more than their other racial counterparts. The measure signed into law by President Barack Obama was approved by voice vote in the US House of Representatives.
Right now under existing law, the possession of only five grams of crack cocaine attaches a mandatory minimum five-year prison sentence, while the same sentence triggers it by trafficking with a whole 500 grams of powder cocaine.
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