Cocaine is case study in why mandatory sentences don't work
Our View

U.S. Sen. Joe Biden spoke on behalf of many the other day when he apologized for making a mistake 20 years ago by supporting minimum mandatory prison sentences for crack cocaine compared to convictions for using or possessing powder cocaine.

In the 1980s, law enforcement officials had lawmakers believing that crack cocaine was instantly addictive, more harmful to unborn babies than other drugs, and led to more criminal activity. It also happened to be more prevalent in black neighborhoods than white ones.

          All of those myths about crack use have been debunked. The result was heavily disproportionate sentencing of crack-cocaine convicts. The mere possession of crack requires a 5-year minimum stay in a federal penitentiary. It takes 100 times more powder cocaine to reach the five- and 10-year minimum sentences.

It was a bad law in the 1980s and remains bad today.

         Sen. Biden and several other co-sponsors, including Sen. Hillary Clinton, have introduced a bill to do away with the sentencing disparities and minimum prison time for possession. It also calls for more counseling and prison-based drug treatment.

The madness of minimum mandatory sentencing took off in Congress and state legislatures when the mantra for drug offenders was lock them up and throw away the key. Most of the so-called reasoning behind such requirements has been refuted. Most judges oppose mandatory sentencing, particularly when one defendant may be a dealer and another is an infrequent user. But knocking sense into legislators on the drawbacks of minimum mandatories has not been easy.

         The Delaware Senate is sitting on House Bill 71, which would give sentencing options and decisions back to the judges -- where they belong -- and help reduce the prison population.

         Many states have come to realize that current practices are aggravating problems with prison populations rather than solving them. States are moving to eliminate minimum mandatory sentencing to keep from having to build more prisons.

Sen. Biden has seen the problems close up on the federal level. Delaware lawmakers should take note and move in the right direction by passing H.B. 71.