1 in 15 (originally posted by Yermande Rehema Bah)-gctid34427

[Ɔbenfo Ọbádélé]

The so-called "war on drugs" has created a national disaster: 1 in 15 Black adults in America are behind bars.¹ It's not because we commit more crime but largely because of unfair sentencing rules that treat 5 grams of crack cocaine--the kind found in poor Black communities--the same as 500 grams of powder cocaine², which is the kind found in White and wealthier communities.
 These sentencing laws are destroying communities across the country and have done almost nothing to reduce the level of drug use and crime.
 We now have an opportunity to end this disaster once and for all. A bill is moving through Congress right now that would end the sentencing disparity.³ It's critical that members of Congress see support from everyday folks. Join us in asking our representatives in the House and Senate to push for its passage, and please ask your friends and family to do the same. It only takes a moment:
 ColorOfChange.org
 At every step in the criminal justice system, Black people are at a disadvantage -- we are more likely to be arrested, charged, and convicted, but less likely to have access to good legal representation, and get out of prison on parole.⁴ While there's no denying that the presence of crack has a hugely negative impact in Black communities across the country, it's clear that the overly harsh crack sentencing laws have done more to feed the broken system than improve our communities.
 You have to be convicted of moving roughly $75,000 worth of cocaine to trigger a 5-year sentence.⁵ For crack? About $500 worth.⁶ These laws punish the lowest-level dealers, while providing a loophole that helps those running the trade escape harsh sentences.
 Recently, attention has turned to these ill-conceived policies as prisons burst at the seams with non-violent drug offenders. The U.S. Sentencing Commission, which provides sentencing guidelines for judges, has petitioned Congress numerous times to change the sentencing laws.⁷
 Last year, we reached out to you when Senator Joe Biden-- one of the original architects of the disparity-- introduced a bill that would have finally eliminated it and ended the mandatory minimum for crack possession, while increasing funding for drug treatment programs and providing additional resources for going after major cocaine kingpins.⁸
 His proposal stalled, but that same legislation is moving through Congress again with new support, and it looks like there's a real chance it could pass. The White House is a clear ally. President Obama has said many times that punishment for crack and powder cocaine should be the same, ⁹ and Biden is now Vice President and still an ardent advocate for getting rid of the disparity.
 But there are foes of this plan. Others want to see the disparity reduced to 20-to-1 or 10-to-1, but not eliminated. As Bill Piper of the Drug Policy Alliance has said, that "would be like amending the Constitution's three-fifths clause to make Kmtyw-Americans fourth-fifths citizens or desegregating 60 percent of public establishments instead of all of them."¹⁰ Members of Congress need to hear that there is strong support for a full elimination of the disparity, and that now's the time to support such legislation.
 We can take this opportunity to join the Sentencing Commission and countless other advocates in calling on Congress to change this unjust law. Please join us:
 ColorOfChange.org
 Thank You and Peace,
 -- James, Gabriel, William, Dani, and the rest of the ColorOfChange team
   April 20th, 2009
 Help support our work. ColorOfChange.org is powered by YOU--your energy and dollars. We take no money from lobbyists or corporations and our tiny staff ensures your contributions go a long way. You can contribute here:
 https://secure.colorofchange.org/contribute/?id=2228-660044
 References:
 1. "1 in 100 U.S. Adults Behind Bars, New Study Says," New York Times, 02-28-08
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/28/us/28cnd-prison.html
 2. "Crack/Cocaine Sentencing Disparity," Drug Policy Alliance
Crack/Cocaine Sentencing Disparity
 3. "H.R. 265 - Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2009"
H.R.265 - Drug Sentencing Reform and Cocaine Kingpin Trafficking Act of 2009 Sponsor: Sheila Jackson-Lee / 111th Congress | MAPLight.org
 4. "Annotated Bibliography: Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System," Sentencing Project
Annotated Bibliography: Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System
 5. "Cocaine Price/Purity Analysis of STRIDE Data," Drug Enforcement Agency
DEA, Drug Information, Cocaine Price/Purity Analysis
 6. "FAQ About Crack," Narconon
Crack Addiction - Crack Abuse - Crack Detox - Crack Recovery - Crack Treatment
 7.U.S. Sentencing Commission Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy, May 2007.
http://www.ussc.gov/r_congress/cocaine2007.pdf
 8. "Senate Bill Will Fix Sentencing Disparity for Crack Cocaine Possession," Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, 7-18-07
Senate Bill Will Fix Sentencing Disparity for Crack Cocaine Possession - Leadership Conference on Civil Rights
 9. "White House Civil Rights Agenda"
Civil Rights
 10. "Congress to Hold Historic Hearing Tuesday on Draconian 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Sentencing Disparity," Drug Policy Alliance, 02-25-08
Congress to Hold Historic Hearing Tuesday on Draconian 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Sentencing Disparity
 Additional resources:
 "Race and the Drug War," Drug Policy Alliance
Race and the Drug War
 "Federal Crack Cocaine Sentencing," The Sentencing Project
The Sentencing Project - Publication Details

[Kamau Kambon]

Drug arrests on the increase- more
Blacks arrested:
 
Drug "laws" ARE ONE OF THE BIGGEST
SCAMS IN THE VAMPIRE EMPIRE-CALLED
u.s. corporation of amerikkka!
white people brought, and still bring,
the drugs into every single BLACK
COMMUNITY IN THE COUNTRY- the
biggest traffikkkersof drugs are the white cops.
Actually, white cops in this country
are the greatest beneficiaries of
a disguised white welfare system.
Most white cops are very, very ignorant-
many just barely "graduated" from high school.
If these ignorant white men did not become
cops, or firemen, they would be living
in trailers or caves, up in the hills.
Think about it. What kind of work
would these low intelligence cretins actually qualify
for in the "business" world? These cops
have cavemen mentalities: they create "
crime" -and physically abuse Blacks
in their "custody"-since most are homosexual
anyway, this is how they get their jollies off-by abusing-
beating, hitting, kicking, cursing Black men.
 
to get them to confess to crimes they did not
commit!!
 
Still haunted by 'wolf pack'

label, men wrongly

convicted in Central

Park Jogger case

speak

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2009/04/12/2009-04-12_still_haunted_by_wolf_pack_label_men_wrongly_convicted_in_central_park_jogger_ca.html
********************************************
TO JUSTIFY GETTING
THEIR weekly or monthly white welfare "HATECHECKS"-
IT IS NO SECRET- white cops are barbaric
criminals- always have been; always will
be- cave criminals!!

http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=caveman&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi

The best way to reduce crime in the Vampire
Empire called the u.s.corporation of amerikkka
is to create REAL JOBS FOR IGNORANT white
men- put them to work shoveling coal in
the abandoned mines.
In summary, white cops create crime
in order to justify their "jobs" and
their "hatechecks"
 
AND YOU PEA-BRAIN SIMPLETON DUPED
negroes who are still messin' with drugs
should take the advise of The Last Poets
(niggers are scared of revolution)
YOU SHOULD GET HIGH AND RIDE TO HELL
(hell is a white mythical concept used
to control brain-dead negroes)

[nattyreb]

Right on, strong Bro., there was some new news yesterday, let's see what may (or may not) come of these latest developments as a result of some hard lobbying by a variety of orgs:

Jasmine Tyler: Obama Administration Calls for End to Crack-Powder Sentencing Disparity