In the United States a new law has gone into effect limiting the size of the sentence for the drug crack cocaine. The drug sentence has gone down from a sentence of 18 years to a sentence of one. This means that for over 12,000 prisoners currently serving time the doors may open early. All those sentenced are entitled to ask for shorter sentences and have their case heard. This controversy arose over the fact that the sentence for powder cocaine a more aristocratic drug was only one year while crack- cocaine had a sentence of about 18 years. Crack cocaine has often been seen as a lower class drug and a huge injustice in the United States. Of those sentenced the majority of prisoners are African-American and now more then 1,800 are eligible for release immediatly.
http://edition.cnn.com/2011/11/01/justice/crack-cocaine-sentencing/index.html?hpt=us_c2
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