Pubdate: Sat, 16 Jun 2001
Source: Charlotte Observer (NC)
Copyright: 2001 The Charlotte Observer
Contact:  http://www.charlotte.com/observer/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/78
Author: Eric Frazier

GROUP SAYS MINIMUMS PUNISH LOW-LEVEL ADDICTS, MISS KINGPINS

Meeting Looks At Required Jail Time

In some parts of the country, lengthy prison terms for nonviolent drug 
offenders are on the way out, sentencing reform advocates said Friday as 
they opened a two-day conference in Charlotte.

Leaders of a national group, Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM), 
said criticism is rising in various states against the lengthy sentences 
state and federal laws require judges to impose against drug offenders in 
the nation's war against drugs.

They hope their conference, which features seminars today and a 6:30 p.m. 
speech by U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a Charlotte Democrat, will rally opposition 
in the Southeast to mandatory minimum sentences.

Laura Sager, executive director of FAMM, addressed the media at St. Luke's 
Lutheran Church on Park Road, where the event is being held.

She said officials in New York, Connecticut, Louisiana and Georgia have 
been re-examining the fairness of such laws. Citing various studies, Sager 
said the laws often don't catch drug kingpins, but rather snare low-level, 
nonviolent drug addicts and punish them with long sentences.

Budget shortfalls brought on by the faltering economy are also forcing 
states to look at prison spending.

"They can't afford it any longer, and they realize the results are not what 
they intended," she said.

The Rev. Stanley Crawford of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg NAACP noted that 
thousands of children have lost their fathers to lengthy prison sentences 
under a system he called "unfair, unclear and unconscionable." The 
conference will feature former federal prisoners, their families, religious 
leaders and political leaders. Organizers said they will be searching for 
ways to build grass-roots opposition to mandatory minimum sentences.

The drug war "is not working. If you look at it, it is an unqualified 
failure," said Melba Newsome, a free-lance writer who has studied the issue 
and will participate in the conference. "We don't want crime to go 
unpunished. We want the punishment to fit the crime."
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