The memo from the head of the US Department of Justice targets drug policies related to high rates of black incarceration.
USA Attorney General Merrick Garland directed federal prosecutors on Friday to end the disparity in how they charge in relation to crack cocaine and powder cocaine.
The change, outlined in a pair of internal memos released by the US justice department on Friday, is a major victory for criminal justice reform advocates, who point out that the regime The current conviction has resulted in disproportionate detention of black Americans since the policy was adopted nearly 40 years ago.
Mandatory minimum sentences for crack-related offenses are now 18 times longer than those for powder cocaine. The Justice Department has advocated eliminating that disparity, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers is working on legislation to significantly reduce it.
In the memo, Garland instructs prosecutors to treat “crack cocaine defendants no differently than defendants in powder cocaine cases” when they charge defendants and make recommendations. sentencing recommendation.
They also instruct prosecutors to reserve charges involving the mandatory minimum sentence for situations where there are several aggravating factors, such as leadership of a organized crime group.
Supporters welcomed the move but added that codifying the change into law was key.
“Today’s announcement acknowledges this injustice and takes steps to finally achieve parity between powdered and crack cocaine convictions where there is no pharmacological difference in the substances,” said the Senator. Democratic Party member Cory Bookera sponsor of legislation related to cocaine sentencing, said in a statement.
The move comes as Senate negotiators close to an agreement to include a measure to narrow the sentencing gap between crack and powdered cocaine in a year-end spending bill.
In 1986, Congress passed legislation establishing mandatory minimum sentences for drug trafficking offenses, which tried for crack and powder cocaine offenses at a ratio of 100 to 1. According to that formula, one a person convicted of selling 5gm of crack cocaine will be treated the same as a person selling 500g of powdered cocaine. That ratio was narrowed to 18 to 1 in 2010.
Instructions from Garland will be effective after 30 days. It does not apply retroactively.
