NCJ Number
205295
Date Published
March 2002
Length
42 pages
Annotation
Against the background of complaints about the current Federal sentencing scheme for crack and powder cocaine and current proposals for amendments that will eliminate the current penalty differential between powder and crack cocaine, this paper reports on a number of analyses of the Federal sentencing data for cocaine offenses collected by the U.S. Sentencing Commission between 1996 and 2000.
Abstract
Proposals to amend the Federal sentencing scheme for crack and powder cocaine offenses have focused on concerns that the 100:1 differential in the amounts of powder and crack cocaine that occasions 5- and 10-year mandatory minimum sentences is unjustified, contrary to Congress' intent, and has a disproportionately harsh effect on Blacks. Some have argued that the 100:1 differential in powder and crack cocaine amounts produces sentences for crack cocaine that are far longer than sentences for powder cocaine. The analyses described in the current report each attempt to compare the sentences for offenders that involved crimes with like amounts of powder and crack cocaine. The analyses show that sentences for crack cocaine are 1.3 to 8.3 times longer than sentences for powder cocaine, depending on the amount of cocaine involved and the specific characteristics of the offender. In 2000, the average crack sentence was 1.6 times the average powder sentence. This report advises that crack cocaine is an especially dangerous drug, since it is more likely to be psychologically addictive than powder cocaine, and it is more likely to result in chronic, heavy use. Also, the use of crack cocaine is more associated with systemic violence than powder cocaine; for example, in 2000, crack defendants were twice as likely to have possessed or used a weapon as powder-cocaine defendants. The authors note that if the debate over the appropriate sentences for crack and powder cocaine are to be useful, it must take into account the more dangerous nature of crack cocaine. 9 tables and appended data on selected sentencing characteristics of defendants convicted in the Federal court for crack and powder cocaine offenses over the period 1999-2000