April 29, 2009
Dear FAMM member,
Today is an historic day in the battle for sentencing reform!!!
This morning, the U.S. Department of Justice is announcing that it supports replacing the controversial 100:1 sentencing disparity between crack and powder cocaine with an even 1:1 ratio. DOJ's announcement, included in testimony to be delivered on Capitol Hill by Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer, marks the first time the Justice Department has publicly endorsed equalization of the penalties between crack and powder cocaine. You can watch the hearing live at 10 a.m. EST by clicking here to go to the Senate Judiciary Committee website. FAMM member Cedric Parker is the final witness at the hearing.
The significance of today's announcement cannot be overstated. For years, FAMM has argued that individualized and proportionate sentencing does not jeopardize public safety. Today, the U.S. Justice Department - the nation's top law enforcement agency, the overseer of every federal prosecutor in the United States - agreed with us. DOJ's new position on crack penalties acknowledges that we need not sacrifice safety for sentencing fairness. The nation's top cops say we can have both!
Two decades ago when crack penalties were established, little was known about crack cocaine. Flawed assumptions about the drug drove Congress to adopt a particularly harsh sentencing structure for crack cocaine when it established new mandatory minimums for a host of drug offenses. Now, those perceptions have been repeatedly disproven and discredited.
Enabled by your steadfast support, FAMM has been leading the fight for individualized and proportionate sentences for 18 years. We are especially proud of our active role in the campaign to change the laws that set the unjustifiably harsh crack sentences.
Over the past 18 years, FAMM and its members have: testified countless times before committees of Congress and the U.S. Sentencing Commission; generated more than 33,000 letters of support from the public in 2007 for crack changes; met with key policymakers; and garnered extensive media coverage. Two years ago FAMM's tireless advocacy helped convince the Sentencing Commission to lower crack sentences and make the change retroactive. More than 20,000 people serving federal sentences for crack became eligible for sentence reductions.
With today's statement from the Department of Justice, the pressure is now on Congress to act. Crack sentencing reform is way past due. Of course, so is the repeal of all mandatory minimum sentences. But for today, we will celebrate this historic moment in the quest for sentencing reform!
Sentences that Fit. Justice that Works.