As discussed in the previous post, the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA) of 2010 recently went into effect retroactively in order to reduce the unjust disparity between mandatory minimum sentences for those convicted of drug crimes involving crack cocaine versus powder cocaine. People who are currently serving overly long sentences for crack cocaine convictions can apply to have their sentences reduced.

As mentioned in the previous post, the Fair Sentencing Act will reduce the disparity between prison sentences for crack cocaine versus powder cocaine to 18 to 1. Previously, people who were convicted of drug crimes involving crack cocaine received sentences 100 times longer than those convicted of comparable drug crimes involving powder cocaine.

The move to apply the FSA retroactively is considered by many interested in criminal defense and civil rights as one of the most exciting developments in criminal justice in 2011, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The ACLU recently had a blog post containing all the positive criminal justice developments of note from 2011 and highlighted the enactment of the FSA. According to the ACLU, more than 12,000 people will be eligible to apply to have their prison sentences reduced under the new law.

One of the reasons that mandatory minimums were so unfair is that the majority of people convicted of drug crimes involving crack cocaine are African-American and the majority of people convicted of drug crimes involving power cocaine are white.

Of the 12,000 people who can apply to have their sentences reduced, 85 percent are African-American. The new law is a step toward fairness, but many people remain cut off from their families in jail that should no longer be there.

Source: ACLU Blog of Rights, "The Criminal Justice Year in Review - 2011," Rachel Myers, Dec. 22, 2011