New law regarding cocaine violations go into effect

cocaine_addictFor thousands of inmates in prisons in US convicted of cocaine charges, the prison doors will open early. According to the new rule passed by the Congress there will be sentencing changes easing the disparity between the penalties for possessing or distributing crack vs. powder cocaine.  This would mean that those who would caught distributing cocaine would serve less prison time that those who would be possessing it.  This would mean that more than 12,000 current inmates are eligible to request reduced sentences.  The retroactivity took effect Tuesday. The Sentencing Commission estimates that inmates will have an average of three years chopped off their sentences. An estimated 1,800 inmates became eligible for release immediately because they had already served enough time, and prosecutors did not object to their release.  Attorneys have noted that under the old guidelines someone who had just 5 grams of crack cocaine would receive a mandatory minimum sentence of five years. But someone would have to have 500 grams of powdered cocaine to receive a similar sentence.
William Johnson, a Virginia man convicted of conspiracy to distribute cocaine in 1997, was one of those released Tuesday. Under the terms of his original sentence, he would have been eligible for release in October 2018, and that sentence was reduced a few years ago so that his revised release date was June 2014.

But even with the changes, there is still an 18-to-1 disparity in sentences for crack and powder cocaine offenses. Attorneys said now a person with crack will have to have 28 grams before triggering a mandatory five-year minimum sentence. But the person with powder cocaine still must have a much larger amount — at least 500 grams.

New law regarding cocaine violations go into effect

Report by Indrani Chowdury