A couple of decades ago, Congress mandated that, in most drug-related convictions, the defendant must receive a minimum sentence for possession of the drug, usually depending upon weight and type of drug.
This wonderful example of drug-war injustice is commonly referred to as "mandatory minimums."
Originally, mandatory minimums were applied to trafficking offenses but were later expanded to include possession for personal use.
Mandatory minimums are often decried for their influence on racial disparity among prison populations.
Before this year, a person found with 5 grams of crack (around 10 doses) was given the same mandatory minimum of 5 years in prison as someone found with 500 grams of cocaine powder (thousands of doses).
Studies show that crack is disproportionately used by African-Americans than by whites, who commonly use cocaine powder. Although the racist motivations of lawmakers can be speculated, one can clearly see that mandatory minimums put more African-Americans behind bars.
Yet, simple possession of other drugs such as methamphetamine and heroin is a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum one-year sentence. Many would say that methamphetamine is more dangerous that crack, but backward drug policy places a higher burden on those who possess the latter - mostly minorities.
This summer, the 1 to 100 ratio was recently dropped to a 1 to 18 ratio. This means that the same sentence will be given to someone who has 5 grams of crack compared to 90 grams of cocaine powder.
Coupled with the problem of racial disparity is the problem of arbitrary, bureaucratic rules putting non-violent drug users behind bars.
Why is there such a need for a one-size-fits-all drug policy?
Shouldn't every ruling and subsequent sentence be determined by the facts of each individual case?
Someone found wielding a crowbar while in possession of crack certainly deserves more scrutiny than someone using crack in the privacy of their own home. Yet, these archaic laws treat these offenders as one and the same.
Mandatory minimums are just one example of a host of symptoms contributing to the overcrowding of our prisons.
The United States makes up about 5 percent of the world's population but has more prisoners than China, which makes up over one sixth of the world's population.
Judges should be able to use their knowledge of the law and the facts of each case to determine an appropriate sentence for the defendant.
They should not be reliant upon an arbitrary sentence determined by lawmakers in Washington, D.C., who know nothing about the case but somehow think they are helping by putting more non-violent offenders behind bars.
