Drug sentencing reform changed my life. Now, Congress must take it a step further. | Opinion
For nearly 40 years, our country has punished crack and cocaine with drastically different penalties, despite being two forms of the same drug.
The EQUAL Act is a bill before Congress that would finally eliminate the sentencing disparity between offenses involving crack and powder cocaine. North Carolinians should feel good that their senior senator, Thom Tillis, is a lead cosponsor of this important reform.
Congress first created the crack-powder disparity in 1986 at the height of the drug war. The original disparity was 100-to-1 – that is, someone selling just five grams of crack (the weight of a single nickel) would receive the same minimum five-year prison term as someone who sold 500 grams of powder cocaine (more than a pound).
Congress reduced the disparity to 18-to-1 as part of the First Step Act. Despite law enforcement leaders and justice reform organizations urging Congress to make the punishments equal, 18-to-1 was the best compromise that could be achieved at the time.
But the First Step Act was just the first step. It’s time to eliminate this disparity that tears apart families in our country.
I know what the cocaine disparity does to families. I lived it.
In 1996, I received a 35-year sentence for selling crack, and spent 20 years incarcerated before my 2016 release. But after 22 months, I was sent back to prison when the courts claimed an error in my release. I was finally granted release after the First Step Act — the first person to benefit from that legislation.
The First Step Act dramatically reformed our federal sentencing laws. An important part of that bill was the push to make it retroactive: the changes to crack offense sentences would not only affect those sentenced in the future, but also provide an opportunity for those currently incarcerated to receive the same benefits. Without it, I wouldn’t be here today, advocating for criminal justice reform and reunited with my friends and family.
I’m not alone in supporting the EQUAL Act. It’s supported by the National District Attorneys Association, the Major Cities Chiefs of Police, the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, Americans for Prosperity, and justice reform organizations in North Carolina and across the U.S.
This diverse group of organizations are committed to keeping communities safe while protecting equal justice under the law. They know that punishing two forms of the same drug differently is not fair and wastes resources that could be used to combat real public safety threats.
Some might think letting people out early will increase crime, but we know that people previously released early because of crack sentencing reforms have the same reoffending rate as those who served the longer, unfair sentences.
And it’s not a get-out-of-jail-free card. The person in prison must first request a sentence adjustment in court. The U.S. Attorney’s office can (and often does) oppose a sentence reduction.
The court alone can grant or deny a sentence reduction, but only after considering all the facts of the case and whether the person is a danger to the public. Those whose sentences are reduced still must serve years of supervised release. This supervision requires reporting to a probation officer and complying with conditions like staying drug- and crime-free. If a person breaks the rules or commits a new crime, they can be sent back to prison.
But it offers people a chance, just like the one I received.
After my release, I was invited to be a guest at the 2019 State of the Union and got a standing ovation from members of the House and Senate in both parties. I was only there because of the retroactivity of those crack sentencing changes.
This Congress, which includes many of those same members who passed and applauded the First Step Act, has the opportunity to help thousands of people with the EQUAL Act. I hope Sens. Ted Budd and Thom Tillis will lend their voices to the chorus championing this bill.