Drug Sentencing in the United States

Drug Sentencing in relation to Crime and Race

Drug Sentencing is included in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (1), beginning with: Since the advent of the War on Drugs in the 1980s, sentencing for drug offenses has been the predominant force driving expansion of criminal punishment in the United States. The increased use of criminal sanctions has disproportionately affected people of color. This section addresses the impact of state-level (in contrast to federal) sentencing for drug offenses by race/ethnicity. The goals of sentencing for drug offenses are commonly based in ideas of deterrence and incapacitation. In theory, the threat of criminal punishment deters people from possessing illegal drugs as well as dealing them. For those who are not deterred, criminal punishment serves to restrain (incapacitate) them in a physical way, for example, by keeping them in prison so they lack access to drug markets in the free world.

Federal Drug Sentencing in relation to Crime and Race

Federal Drug Sentencing is included in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime (1), beginning with: Sentencing practices for federal offenders have been altered significantly over the past several decades. Those charged with drug-related offenses at the federal level have experienced the harshest treatment within the criminal justice system. Though the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 was designed to support more equitable sentencing practices, sentencing disparities continue, sending minorities to prison with much longer sentences than those of their White counterparts. While drug use remains widespread in the United States, criminal justice professionals and policymakers have an opportunity to develop strategies to tackle this problem. This section reviews federal laws relating to drug use and presents evidence of disparities in the sentencing of minorities convicted of drug offenses. Such evidence highlights the importance of developing strategies and interventions that address the problem of drug use without inequitably penalizing vulnerable populations.

Resources

Notes and References

1. Entry about Federal Drug Sentencing in the Encyclopedia of Race and Crime

See Also

Further Reading

United States Senate, Federal Cocaine Sentencing Laws: Reforming the 100-to-1 Crack/Powder Disparity: Hearing Before the Subcomm. on Crime and Drugs of the S. Comm. on the Judiciary, 110th Cong. (2008).
United States Senate, Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy (2002).
United States Senate, Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy (2007).
United States House of Representatives, Comprehensive Drug Penalty Act: Hearing on H.R. 3272, H.R. 3299, and H.R. 3725, Before the Subcomm. on Crime of the H. Comm. on the Judiciary, 98th Cong. (1983).
United States Senate, Rules of Practice and Procedure (2007).
United States Senate, Special Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy (1995).
United States Senate, Special Report to the Congress: Cocaine and Federal Sentencing Policy (1997).