The House voted yesterday to lessen - although not eliminate -- the disparities between crack and cocaine drug sentence. The bill, a bipartisan proposal from Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL), narrows "the gap between criminal penalties for crack and powder cocaine to 18 to 1 from the old 100 to 1 ratio that Hoyer cited." The legislation, which passed the Senate in March, is now making its way to the president's desk for signing.
For civil rights activists who have fought to end the disparities in sentencing guidelines, this is a half-hearted victory, given the severity of crack sentences,18 to 1 is a step in the right direction but a long way from the finishing line.
Durbin says he's been troubled that the system unfairly punishes blacks who are convicted far more often of crack cocaine crimes. "Today, I think we've added some justice to a system that had been unjust for too long," Durbin said.
