About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

27 S. Ill. U. L.J. 413 (2002-2003)
Amending the Sentencing Guidelines for Cocaine Offenses: The 100-to-1 Ratio Is Not as Cracked Up as Some Suggest

handle is hein.journals/siulj27 and id is 441 raw text is: AMENDING THE SENTENCING GUIDELINES FOR COCAINE OFFENSES: THE 100-TO-1 RATIO IS NOT As CRACKED UP As SOME SUGGEST Elizabeth Tison I. INTRODUCTION From no other governmental institution is so much expected as from the American system of justice. Covered extensively by the media, monitored closely by the public at large and administered by proponents of differing philosophies, our system always has and always will be subject to debate, both within and without the ranks of those who administer it. At the pinnacle of that debate stands the process of sentencing. Because the sentencing process defines our values in a variety of ways, everyone has a vested interest in it. Therefore, legislators and practitioners have known for a long time that the sentencing decision is of such magnitude that it should not be rendered without some common basis in logic and reason if fairness is to prevail.' For years, extensive criticism has plagued the federal sentencing policy for cocaine offenses. The current approach to sentencing cocaine offenses has been challenged by public officials, private citizens, criminal justice practitioners, researchers, and interest groups.2 In May, 2002, the United States Sentencing Commission issued a report to Congress that was meant to contribute to the ongoing assessment of federal crack cocaine sentencing policies. The report recommended several changes to the current crack cocaine sentencing policies and based those recommendations on new data and statistics. This was not the Commission's first effort to change the rules on crack, and it treaded very carefully. In 1995, it proposed changes in the guidelines' treatment of cocaine base, but Congress rejected the proposed amendment by passing a statute that provided considerations to be taken into account in any future proposal for modifying the guidelines' treatment of crack offenses. Among other things, Congress specified that offenses involving equal weights of crack and powder cocaine should not receive equal punishment, and that stricter sentences should be imposed on crack defendants who murder or injure others or who use firearms or other dangerous weapons. The 1. Thomas N. Whiteside, The Reality of Federal Sentencing: Beyond the Criticism, 91 Nw. U. L REV. 1574 (1997). 2. Special Report to Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy, 10 Fed. Sentencing Rep. (Vera Inst. of Just.) No. 4, at 184 (1998). 413

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most