Pubdate: Wed, 11 May 2005
Source: New Haven Register (CT)
Copyright: 2005, New Haven Register
Contact:  http://www.zwire.com/site/news.asp?brd=1281
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/292
Author: Gregory B. Hladky
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/coke.htm (Cocaine)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?199 (Mandatory Minimum Sentencing)

LAWMAKERS GIVE DRUG DEALERS A BREAK

HARTFORD - The huge racial disparities in Connecticut's prisons is one
major reason why state House lawmakers voted 93-52 Tuesday to equalize
penalties for the sale of crack and powdered cocaine.

Advocates of the new legislation argued that, by penalizing the sale
of crack much more harshly than the sale of powdered cocaine, state
law has helped create a prison system where 72 percent of all inmates
are black or Latino.

Crack has been called the "drug of choice" of inner-city minorities in
part because it is sold in smaller quantities at cheaper prices than
powdered cocaine, which tends to be favored by more affluent, white
suburban drug users.

The House chairman of the legislature's Judiciary Committee, state
Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, D-East Haven, said current law triggers a
mandatory minimum five-year sentence for possession with intent to
sell of one-half of one gram of crack.

But the five-year mandatory sentence for selling powdered cocaine
doesn't kick in until someone is caught with at least an ounce of the
drug - an amount 56 times greater than the threshold for crack cocaine.

The bill would set the threshold for a five-year prison term at one
ounce for both crack and powdered cocaine.

Lawlor said one "unintended consequence" of the effort to get tough on
crack dealers is that a flood of nonviolent minority offenders has
ended up in Connecticut prisons.

The measure, approved by the House, now goes to the state
Senate.

Critics of the measure warned that equalizing the penalties would send
the wrong message to drug users.

"I don't think it's about race, I think it's about drugs," said state
Rep. Kevin D. Witkos, R-Canton. "We're moving to a 'say maybe, say
yes' policy on drugs. . This legislation is terrible."

State Rep. Robert Farr, R-West Hartford, objected to raising the
threshold for crack to the same level as for powdered cocaine. He said
he agreed they should be equal, but proposed that the trigger for
mandatory minimum sentences be set at one-half an ounce rather than a
full ounce.

But the House rejected Farr's proposal on a 78-66 vote.

Farr insisted that the "impact on our prison system is minimal" no
matter what the level was set at because so few defendants are
actually convicted under the current law. He said most cases result in
dismissals or plea bargains to other charges.
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MAP posted-by: Richard Lake