Cocaine sentencing bill passed by House

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - After years of controversy about drug sentencing, Congress changed a law that many felt was initially based on race. The House approved a bill Wednesday that would change the disparity when it comes to mandatory crack and powder cocaine sentences.

"I think that it's a long time coming. Congress knew it was an unfair law, everybody knew that it was an unfair law, but getting everybody on the same page and do it is what the problem was," Defense Attorney Bob Clark said.

All too often Clark said he's seen a wide gap in sentencing from federal courts.

"There's always been a disparity. It's always been racially motivated," said Clark.

Officials said for years, tens of thousands of blacks have been subjected to long prison terms for crack cocaine convictions, whereas whites, who were mainly caught with the powder form of the drug, were giving far more lenient treatment.

"You wouldn't believe what they did to people. I got a 26-year-old senior in college from southern Louisiana doing life without parole for going to Houston, Texas and bringing back some powdered cocaine that got cooked in Mobile. Cooked up to crack. He got life without parole," said Clark.

In the past, if a person was convicted of possessing crack cocaine, they would get the same mandatory prison term as someone with 100 times the same amount of powder cocaine.

"If you had more than five grams of crack, you got an automatic five years. Five grams of powdered cocaine would hardly get you in jail, but you got a minimum mandatory five if it was crack. So there's going to be a lot of difference since they modified the statute," Clark added.

The legislation now reduces that ratio to about 18-to-1. Clark said the change is long overdue. In essence, both drugs are just as harmful.

"Crack cocaine is no different from powder cocaine. It affects your brain the same way. It wasn't that it had different affects on people, it was they perceived that it did," Clark said.

The new provision is being sent to the President for his signature. Officials also said the government would save $42 million over the next five years because of the reduction in prison population.