Rethinking Criminal Justice Sentencing

Sentencing disparities have existed for decades, but especially after the advent of minimum mandatory sentences for crack cocaine and after "three strikes" sentencing became popular. There's no real difference between the use, possession, & sale of crack and powder cocaine except for the race of the majority and percentages of users. This is true for a variety of reasons, mostly economics and geography. The difference in sentencing, however, is due to racism and class, not economics and geography.

"The New York Times" editorial is right on target. It's time, beyond time, that we as a society, a nation, and a citizenry, and as a criminal justice issue, reform these guidelines to achieve a sense of parity in sentencing.