The
wisdom
of
pardons
Commentary
By Kemba
Smith
The
nomination
of Eric
Holder
as the
next
U.S.
attorney
general
has
renewed
concerns
about
the
end-of-term
clemencies
granted
by
President
Clinton.
High-profile
names
such as
Marc
Rich
grabbed
headlines
at the
time,
but many
other
people
with no
political
influence
benefited
from the
president's
mercy.
I am one
of those
people.
If I had
not
received
a
commutation,
my
first-time
conviction
for a
non-violent
offense
would
have
kept me
in
prison
until
2016
(with
good
behavior)
because
of the
harsh
mandatory
sentencing
laws for
crack
cocaine.
My 1994
prison
sentence
grew out
of my
boyfriend's
trafficking
in
crack.
After he
was
murdered,
the
government
charged
me with
conspiracy
to
distribute
the
crack
that his
drug
ring
distributed.
During
my court
hearings,
prosecutors
acknowledged
that I
never
sold,
handled
or used
any of
the
drugs
involved
in the
conspiracy.
Today, I
could be
in
federal
prison
still
serving
my
24-year
sentence.
Instead,
I've
been
raising
my now
13-year-old
son,
graduated
from
college
in 2002
and
completed
a year
of law
school.
I own a
home and
speak to
youth
about
the
importance
of their
choices
and the
consequences
that can
affect
their
lives
forever.
My own
experience
led me
to
create a
non-profit
foundation
that
focuses
on
providing
children
of
incarcerated
parents
with a
mentor,
and
collaborates
with
other
organizations
on
justice-reform
initiatives.
My story
of
redemption
does not
need to
be an
anomaly.
Thousands
of
petitions
for
executive
clemency
are
pending
before
President
Bush
with a
month
left in
his
term.
The
majority
of those
are
unknown
to him
or the
public.
Many are
people
of color
caught
up in
the war
on drugs
and
serving
long
mandatory
minimum
sentences,
often
for
low-level
offenses.
The
president
should
expedite
such
applications
and
grant
them
clemency.
The
guidelines
for the
Office
of the
Pardon
Attorney
state
that the
excessive
nature
of a
sentence
and
associated
sentencing
disparity
are
appropriate
considerations
when
granting
a
petition
for
commutation.
The
federal
sentencing
policy
for
crack
cocaine
offenses
is a
case in
point.
The
mandatory
five-year
sentence
for a
defendant
convicted
with 5
grams of
crack
cocaine
-- the
weight
of two
sugar
packets
-- is
the same
as that
for a
defendant
convicted
with 100
times
that
amount
of
powder
cocaine,
even
though
these
are two
forms of
the same
drug.
Defendants
convicted
with 50
grams of
crack
cocaine,
about
the
weight
of a
candy
bar,
receive
a
minimum
sentence
of 10
years. A
powder
cocaine
seller
must
have at
least 5
kilograms
to
receive
the same
sentence.
For
decades
criminal
justice
experts,
civil
rights
leaders
and
lawmakers
have
called
these
sentences
unjust.
More
than 80
percent
of
people
convicted
of crack
cocaine
offenses
are
black,
even
though
two-thirds
of crack
cocaine
users
are
white or
Hispanic.
Indeed,
President
Bush
raised
concerns
about
the
issue
before
taking
office,
saying
the
crack-powder
disparity
"ought
to be
addressed
by
making
sure the
powder-cocaine
and the
crack-cocaine
penalties
are the
same."
I agree,
but
despite
significant
changes
made to
the
federal
sentencing
guidelines
for
crack
cocaine
in the
past
year,
the
harsh
mandatory
sentences
remain.
The
president
still
has time
to make
good on
his
promise.
His
clemency
power
should
be used
with
thoughtful
deliberation.
Even so,
it
should
be
utilized
because
clemency
is
sometimes
the only
possible
response
to
unfair
and
excessive
penalties.
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Smith is
founder
of the
Kemba
Smith
Foundation.
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Copyright
(C) 2008
by the
American
Forum.
12/08
