Pubdate: Thu, 21 May 2009 Source: News & Observer (Raleigh, NC) Copyright: 2009 The News and Observer Publishing Company Contact: http://www.newsobserver.com/484/story/433256.html Website: http://www.newsobserver.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304 Author: Thomasi Mcdonald, Staff Writer ENDING DISPARITY IN COCAINE SENTENCING LAWS HAS SUPPORT IN NC RALEIGH - Some state criminal justice advocates say they would welcome an end to the disparity in federal sentences for crack cocaine and powder cocaine crimes. The issue has spawned several fair sentencing bills and received national attention after the Obama administration recently signaled its support, particularly the elimination of harsh penalties for low-level drug offenses. "We wholeheartedly support those proposals," said Katy Parker, legal director of the North Carolina chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union in Raleigh. "There is no medical or scientific distinction in powder cocaine or the base form known as crack. There's no research proving that crack is more addictive than powder cocaine." Wake County District Attorney Colin Willoughby said a public hearing on Capitol Hill today on the issue is "a step in the right direction." The U.S. Attorney's Office in Raleigh, which prosecutes federal cases, declined to comment on the issue. Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison also declined to comment, saying he has not had a chance to review the proposed legislation. There are several ways a local drug case may end up in federal court. Speaking during a national teleconference Wednesday, former Western Tennessee federal prosecutor Veronica F. Coleman-Davis said a joint task force consisting of local and federal authorities may make a drug arrest and the suspect may bargain with police to be prosecuted at the state level, where there are lesser penalties, if he or she cooperates. Willoughby said there also are instances in Wake County where local prosecutors ask the federal government to prosecute a case, particularly if the drugs have been intercepted at the airport or on an interstate highway, or for cases "that may have a larger impact." Willoughby noted what critics of the mandatory minimum sentencing have long contended: The laws are discriminatory and disproportionately affect the poor and people of color, particularly African-Americans. Charmaine Fuller, a lobbyist and criminal justice advocate with the Carolina Justice Policy Center in Durham, said the sentencing disparity also depletes state and federal corrections budgets while needlessly filling up prisons. "This 'pseudo-Tough on Crime' policy has led to uncontrollable growth in our federal and state prisons," Fuller said. "Regardless of how you try to explain to people it's a 'war on drugs' or a 'war on a product,' people see a war as a war on them," Kerlikowski said this week in a Wall Street Journal report. "We are not at war with people in this country." - --- MAP posted-by: Jo-D