Archive for Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Crack lessons
June 25, 2008
To the editor:
Twenty two years ago this past week, Len Bias died of a cocaine overdose. His death stunned the sports world and left an indelible mark on our justice system.
In the months after his death, Congress passed harsh new mandatory minimum drug laws that set a 100:1 disparity between the amount of crack cocaine and powder cocaine that trigger the same five-year mandatory prison sentence. The result: Crack-cocaine offenders serve sentences up to eight times longer than those sentenced for powder cocaine.
African-Americans account for 80 percent of those serving time for crack offenses, even though they make up less than 1/3 of crack cocaine users.
By continuing to lock away first time and nonviolent crack cocaine offenders for extraordinarily long sentences instead of treating the problem, we are repeating the mistake, not the lesson, of Len Bias’ story. We are repeating a tale of lost promise.
In recent months, we have seen a new effort among the courts, the public and even among some of our politicians to rewrite the ending for these prisoners. What is Congress waiting for?
Jody DeLay
Overland Park
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Talking points
Do you enjoy going to the Renaissance Festival?
“Not really. I think it’s just hokey, for lack of a better word.”
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