In December of 2007, the United States Sentencing Commission lowered the sentencing exposure for those individuals convicted of distributing crack cocaine because the existing scheduling scheme was intellectually defective and created a racially driven imbalance between distributors and users of crack cocaine (i.e. black and Hispanic)and distributors and users of powder cocaine (i.e. moneyed Caucasians). In addition, the Commission agreed to roll back the harshness of crack conviction penalties retroactively. The decision to review prior sentencing for retroactive application was delayed, however, until March, 2007 to enable the courts to prepare for the expected tsunami of applications for reconsideration.
The results are now in, and the number are outstanding. A recent report from the Commission found that over 17,000 applications to reduce crack related sentences were filed, and that over 12,000 of those applications were successful. Additionally, it appears that the United States Attorney's Office has not been very contentious with these applications, choosing instead to file objections only under extremely limited circumstances.
Some of the other information published by the Commission's recent report follows:
- New Jersey Federal applicants had an average decrease of 18 months of prison time, where the nation average was 24 months
- In 14 District Courts, every application for a reduction was granted
- Some applications related to convictions as far back as 1989
- 86% of those applicants were black whose average age was 30
It appears that the pendulum, no matter how slowly it appears to be moving, is now swinging in the right direction
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