I would agree with Obama that the sentencing for the use of crack and cocaine should be an equal amount of time in jail. Crack and cocaine are the same substance; though they may have a few differences by appearance the sentencing for being caught with crack should not be more severe than if you were caught with cocaine. It is unfair to give someone 10 years for being caught with crack and only give someone 5 years for being caught with cocaine. In the video it stated that whites who used cocaine were given less time than blacks who used crack, which is definitely unfair to base the sentencing on what race you are. It was interesting to hear that if you were found with 5 grams of crack it meant you would serve 5 years without parole, but it would take 500 grams of cocaine to serve the same sentencing. Unfortunately for those who were caught with cocaine before this new law will have to continue serving their original sentencing because like the video said it would be retroactive to go back and change the amount of time being served. Though it has taken many years to finally establish that crack and cocaine is the same drug, it is more equal now for those convicted to serve the same amount of jail time. - MH789
I agree I share many ideas with you. The main point I agree on is that the disparity was just to wide and and the sentencing time was unfair. And another subject I liked was that it took to long to pass this Bill. NR789
I agree with MH789 with the fact that the sentencing for crack and cocaine and other similar drugs should be around the same amount of time instead of 10 for one 5 for another. Ramadan789
I agree with Obama that the sentencing for the use of crack and cocaine should result in an equal amount of time in jail. Crack and cocaine are the same substance; although they may have a few differences in appearance, the sentencing for being caught with crack should be the same than if you were caught with cocaine. It is not fair to give one person 10 years for being caught with crack and only give someone else 5 years for being caught with cocaine. In the video it stated that whites who used cocaine were given less time than blacks who used crack, which is most definitely unfair to base the sentencing on what race a person is. It was interesting to hear that if you are found with 5 grams of crack it meant you would serve 5 years without parole, but it would take 500 grams of cocaine to serve the same sentencing. Unfortunately, for those people who were caught with cocaine before this new law went into effect will have to continue serving their original sentencing because like the video said it would be retroactive to go back and change the amount of time being served. Although it has taken many years to make clear that crack and cocaine is the same drug, the amount of jail time that will be served is now equal for those convicted. Jon789
I agree that it should be equal sentencing for equal crimes, however about the racial bias issue, I believe it may just be more of a coincidence as far as blacks vs whites sentencing goes. Since more police are patrolling in the minority populated inner cities it's more likely for them to be caught with the substance than a white person in a less densely policed suburb. -EAB789
Closing the gap between the sentencing of crack and cocaine is described as being fair and ending discrimination. The book and the short clip I just watched both talk briefly about how this crack vs. cocaine ties in with sentencing discrimination.For example a white male being charged with possession of cocaine receives less jail time than an African American having possession of crack. Not only that, but the disparity of sentencing charges between both of these drugs was huge. The video mentions that possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine and possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine gives you the same sentencing. This disparity was just too much, fortunately thanks to President Obama the gap has been closed. The good thing the text book mentions is that as of November 2010 sentencing deductions will apply to the inmates already convicted.In the video it states differently saying that the deduction will not take place. NR789
I agree with NR789 and I share the same ideas that you have. The main points I agree with you on is that the disparity is just too wide and the sentencing time for each crime was unfair. Another issue that was brought up that I liked was that it took so long to pass this Bill. Jon789
I agree with President Obama and the sentencing for crack, cocaine and even include other similar drugs to be roughly the same. However, something like marijuana and meth should not be the same, they are two different drugs one which is much more harmful than the others. I think the sentencing to be different for each of the drugs to be unfair because just because you get caught with one and not the other it does not make the matter any different and it will just encourage the illegal selling of one over the other. I think the most interesting thing stated in the video and stated by two other students above was the fact that if you have 5 grams of crack cocaine and in order for the sentencing to be the same with powder cocaine you would have to have 500 grams of it. I can see maybe a difference of 5 grams in order for the sentence be more harsh but its 495 grams more and it is the same sentence, that is a little extreme. Ramadan789
I think you are right to say that crack and cocaine should have the same sentences but very different drugs of different strengths should have different sentences otherwise people getting caught with a little bit of marijuana would be doing the same amount of time as a meth addict. KAM789
I agree with KAM789, they are drugs made from a plant but they are made a different way and give different highs. I also like the point you made about marijuana because that too is from a plant. I just think that crack is much closer to a drug like meth than cocaine, even though both are obviously very bad drugs I just believe theres a different. LF789
President Obama had done the right thing to even out the time sentenced for using each, but i think that he should have, instead of lowing the time period of crack, raised the sentencing of cocaine. Also having only three "sugar packs" of crack could get you five years in prison is a lot. I also think that if you abuse or sell something that is really bad for your health, that you should serve a longer sentence then two years, especially if you have large amounts of cocaine or crack. What i want to know though, is why cocaine in a grounded up form of crack, would make it so you only serve a few years rather than serving ten years for possession of crack.-AEK789
I agree with AEK789 that Obama should have instead of lowered the time for crack, raised the time for cocaine. All in all crack and cocaine are still drugs with bad side effects and ones that cause thousands of deaths per year. -CEM789
Sentencing over a similar crimes should be equal there is no denying it. Whether its crack someone is getting sentenced over or cocaine, the sentencing should be equal. I think that Obama did right by balancing the sentencing between crack and cocaine because when crack was getting a sentencing about three times higher than cocaine it was unfair in the sense of race and economic standing. By this I mean that crack is for the most part dealt with in the “ghetto” and cocaine is usually dealt with in the suburbs. Most of the people are black or latino and poor and in the suburbs most of the population is white and rich. So now we see that most of the people getting the higher sentencing are non-whites and poor while most of the people getting the lesser sentencing are white and rich. So it seems discriminating to do this because its giving the minorities and poor higher sentences than white rich people when crack and cocaine are the same thing either way. So I definitely think that Obama went in the right direction by balancing the sentencing but there are more crimes that are similar to each other that need to be balanced as well. -CEM789
I agree with CEM789. you put the truth out there and its real. i agree that the similar crimes should be if not totally equal, whether it was in the "ghetto" or a suburb. SM789
I agree that this was a biased situation and very unfair for those being caught with crack and cocaine. I think that Obama has made a good decision by giving the same amount of time in jail/prison for crack and cocaine. -MH789
I believe that the differences between the sentencing needed to be equalized, although I don't personally believe in the drug war itself I believe that crimes this similar deserve the same sentence. Some people in the video were concerned about the effects of lessening the sentence, however we have observed that it is the celerity and certainty that will cause a deterrence, not the severity. Furthermore the effects of the differences in sentencing have unintentionally created a race gap in prisons with more minorities going to prison for crack charges than whites going to prison for cocaine charges. This is party in effect due to police saturation of poor inner city neighborhoods where the population is mostly made up of minorities. -EAB789
I agree that this law needed the redo. It seems that U.S.A no longer stands for equal rights or freedom. Obama did the right thing by signing this bill. The fact that almost the same drug and the same weight would give you two totally different sentences. Even the fact that minorities are given more time the a white person is not constitutional. SM789
I think it is a little absurd to have such a difference in sentencing for getting caught with crack as opposed to getting caught with cocaine. Something I noticed about the video though was that it almost made it seem like a race thing to me. I’m not saying there isn’t a level of racism in the justice system but I think if you’re going to say African Americans getting caught with crack get sentenced longer than whites with cocaine you should at least show the statistics of sentencing when whites get caught with crack and African Americans get caught with cocaine. Other than that though I think making the sentencing equal for both is the right thing to do. KAM 789
I agree, the disparity between a sentence for crack versus cocaine is crazy. In class we talked about how they are the same drug. Obama was doing the right thing with equalizing the crimes. Again race and economic status play a role. Crack is more prominently used in poorer communities, essentially where there is a larger percentage of minorities. On the other side we have the wealthier people who have access to cocaine, they have more resources to avoid it and not to mention the difference in sentencing RMG789
I agree with MH789 because I feel like if a drug is illegal everybody who uses it should get the same amount of time in jail. It is very unfair to give 1 person 5 years for cocaine which is an illegal drug then someone who does crack. I mean there both drugs and its against the law to do them so why give people different times someone who is using illegal drugs.-SJ789
I feel like there discriminating between blacks & whites. Why does whites get shorter time than blacks do. We are all equal so race shouldn't change how long your in jail. Obama is doing the right thing because a drug that is illegal no matter if its crack powder or cocaine powder, there both illegal drugs.Everybody that does it should get equal time. If you have more then three bags of cocaine on you get about 5 years which I think isn't fair because three isn't a lot. Some one who has about 8 bags should get about 5 years maybe more. -SJ789
No matter what crime was perpetrated by an offender the sentence should be just and fair, equal. When multiple people commit the same crime, as we all know it happens the same just, fair, and equal sentence needs to be given out as swiftly as the first one. Race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, geography, etc has no business being apart of sentencing someone for the same crime. Just, fair, and equal. EAW789
It is good to know that the disparity between crack and cocaine has been eliminated. It is ridiculous to think that someone caught with the same amount of crack as someone with cocaine receives a sentence double that of the second person. We talked about how crack is used in poorer areas and by minorities. They have don't have the same connections and resources to keep off 'radar', so they are caught more often than cocaine users which are usually from higher economic standings. Crack and cocaine are the same drug, so why would there be different sentence times for them? In the video it was stated that more blacks were arrested and convicted for crimes related to crack than whites for cocaine; it seems like there is more disparity than just the drugs. I am constantly shocked by how much race has an effect in the criminal justice system. RMG789
In my opinion, Crack should have the longer sentence than cocaine. I think it has more of an effect on your long term state of mind and you become more dependent on it. Even though they are made from the same plant, I believe crack is worse for you. I know a cocaine addict first hand and I understand how bad it is but I will look down on a person more for smoking crack rocks. The video in fact, did seem like it was a racial thing but I'm sure they have numbers to prove that the majority of black offenders are doing crack compared to the coke using whites. LF789
I would agree with Obama that the sentencing for the use of crack and cocaine should be an equal amount of time in jail. Crack and cocaine are the same substance; though they may have a few differences by appearance the sentencing for being caught with crack should not be more severe than if you were caught with cocaine. It is unfair to give someone 10 years for being caught with crack and only give someone 5 years for being caught with cocaine. In the video it stated that whites who used cocaine were given less time than blacks who used crack, which is definitely unfair to base the sentencing on what race you are. It was interesting to hear that if you were found with 5 grams of crack it meant you would serve 5 years without parole, but it would take 500 grams of cocaine to serve the same sentencing. Unfortunately for those who were caught with cocaine before this new law will have to continue serving their original sentencing because like the video said it would be retroactive to go back and change the amount of time being served. Though it has taken many years to finally establish that crack and cocaine is the same drug, it is more equal now for those convicted to serve the same amount of jail time. - MH789
ReplyDeleteI agree I share many ideas with you. The main point I agree on is that the disparity was just to wide and and the sentencing time was unfair. And another subject I liked was that it took to long to pass this Bill. NR789
DeleteI agree with MH789 with the fact that the sentencing for crack and cocaine and other similar drugs should be around the same amount of time instead of 10 for one 5 for another.
DeleteRamadan789
I agree with Obama that the sentencing for the use of crack and cocaine should result in an equal amount of time in jail. Crack and cocaine are the same substance; although they may have a few differences in appearance, the sentencing for being caught with crack should be the same than if you were caught with cocaine. It is not fair to give one person 10 years for being caught with crack and only give someone else 5 years for being caught with cocaine. In the video it stated that whites who used cocaine were given less time than blacks who used crack, which is most definitely unfair to base the sentencing on what race a person is. It was interesting to hear that if you are found with 5 grams of crack it meant you would serve 5 years without parole, but it would take 500 grams of cocaine to serve the same sentencing. Unfortunately, for those people who were caught with cocaine before this new law went into effect will have to continue serving their original sentencing because like the video said it would be retroactive to go back and change the amount of time being served. Although it has taken many years to make clear that crack and cocaine is the same drug, the amount of jail time that will be served is now equal for those convicted. Jon789
ReplyDeleteI agree that it should be equal sentencing for equal crimes, however about the racial bias issue, I believe it may just be more of a coincidence as far as blacks vs whites sentencing goes. Since more police are patrolling in the minority populated inner cities it's more likely for them to be caught with the substance than a white person in a less densely policed suburb.
Delete-EAB789
Closing the gap between the sentencing of crack and cocaine is described as being fair and ending discrimination. The book and the short clip I just watched both talk briefly about how this crack vs. cocaine ties in with sentencing discrimination.For example a white male being charged with possession of cocaine receives less jail time than an African American having possession of crack. Not only that, but the disparity of sentencing charges between both of these drugs was huge. The video mentions that possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine and possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine gives you the same sentencing. This disparity was just too much, fortunately thanks to President Obama the gap has been closed. The good thing the text book mentions is that as of November 2010 sentencing deductions will apply to the inmates already convicted.In the video it states differently saying that the deduction will not take place. NR789
ReplyDeleteI agree with NR789 and I share the same ideas that you have. The main points I agree with you on is that the disparity is just too wide and the sentencing time for each crime was unfair. Another issue that was brought up that I liked was that it took so long to pass this Bill. Jon789
ReplyDeleteI agree with President Obama and the sentencing for crack, cocaine and even include other similar drugs to be roughly the same. However, something like marijuana and meth should not be the same, they are two different drugs one which is much more harmful than the others. I think the sentencing to be different for each of the drugs to be unfair because just because you get caught with one and not the other it does not make the matter any different and it will just encourage the illegal selling of one over the other. I think the most interesting thing stated in the video and stated by two other students above was the fact that if you have 5 grams of crack cocaine and in order for the sentencing to be the same with powder cocaine you would have to have 500 grams of it. I can see maybe a difference of 5 grams in order for the sentence be more harsh but its 495 grams more and it is the same sentence, that is a little extreme.
ReplyDeleteRamadan789
DeleteI think you are right to say that crack and cocaine should have the same sentences but very different drugs of different strengths should have different sentences otherwise people getting caught with a little bit of marijuana would be doing the same amount of time as a meth addict. KAM789
I agree with KAM789, they are drugs made from a plant but they are made a different way and give different highs. I also like the point you made about marijuana because that too is from a plant. I just think that crack is much closer to a drug like meth than cocaine, even though both are obviously very bad drugs I just believe theres a different. LF789
DeletePresident Obama had done the right thing to even out the time sentenced for using each, but i think that he should have, instead of lowing the time period of crack, raised the sentencing of cocaine. Also having only three "sugar packs" of crack could get you five years in prison is a lot. I also think that if you abuse or sell something that is really bad for your health, that you should serve a longer sentence then two years, especially if you have large amounts of cocaine or crack. What i want to know though, is why cocaine in a grounded up form of crack, would make it so you only serve a few years rather than serving ten years for possession of crack.-AEK789
ReplyDeleteI agree with AEK789 that Obama should have instead of lowered the time for crack, raised the time for cocaine. All in all crack and cocaine are still drugs with bad side effects and ones that cause thousands of deaths per year.
Delete-CEM789
Sentencing over a similar crimes should be equal there is no denying it. Whether its crack someone is getting sentenced over or cocaine, the sentencing should be equal. I think that Obama did right by balancing the sentencing between crack and cocaine because when crack was getting a sentencing about three times higher than cocaine it was unfair in the sense of race and economic standing. By this I mean that crack is for the most part dealt with in the “ghetto” and cocaine is usually dealt with in the suburbs. Most of the people are black or latino and poor and in the suburbs most of the population is white and rich. So now we see that most of the people getting the higher sentencing are non-whites and poor while most of the people getting the lesser sentencing are white and rich. So it seems discriminating to do this because its giving the minorities and poor higher sentences than white rich people when crack and cocaine are the same thing either way. So I definitely think that Obama went in the right direction by balancing the sentencing but there are more crimes that are similar to each other that need to be balanced as well.
ReplyDelete-CEM789
I agree with CEM789. you put the truth out there and its real. i agree that the similar crimes should be if not totally equal, whether it was in the "ghetto" or a suburb. SM789
DeleteI agree that this was a biased situation and very unfair for those being caught with crack and cocaine. I think that Obama has made a good decision by giving the same amount of time in jail/prison for crack and cocaine. -MH789
DeleteI believe that the differences between the sentencing needed to be equalized, although I don't personally believe in the drug war itself I believe that crimes this similar deserve the same sentence. Some people in the video were concerned about the effects of lessening the sentence, however we have observed that it is the celerity and certainty that will cause a deterrence, not the severity. Furthermore the effects of the differences in sentencing have unintentionally created a race gap in prisons with more minorities going to prison for crack charges than whites going to prison for cocaine charges. This is party in effect due to police saturation of poor inner city neighborhoods where the population is mostly made up of minorities.
ReplyDelete-EAB789
I agree that this law needed the redo. It seems that U.S.A no longer stands for equal rights or freedom. Obama did the right thing by signing this bill. The fact that almost the same drug and the same weight would give you two totally different sentences. Even the fact that minorities are given more time the a white person is not constitutional. SM789
ReplyDeleteI think it is a little absurd to have such a difference in sentencing for getting caught with crack as opposed to getting caught with cocaine. Something I noticed about the video though was that it almost made it seem like a race thing to me. I’m not saying there isn’t a level of racism in the justice system but I think if you’re going to say African Americans getting caught with crack get sentenced longer than whites with cocaine you should at least show the statistics of sentencing when whites get caught with crack and African Americans get caught with cocaine. Other than that though I think making the sentencing equal for both is the right thing to do. KAM 789
ReplyDeleteI agree, the disparity between a sentence for crack versus cocaine is crazy. In class we talked about how they are the same drug. Obama was doing the right thing with equalizing the crimes. Again race and economic status play a role. Crack is more prominently used in poorer communities, essentially where there is a larger percentage of minorities. On the other side we have the wealthier people who have access to cocaine, they have more resources to avoid it and not to mention the difference in sentencing RMG789
DeleteI agree with MH789 because I feel like if a drug is illegal everybody who uses it should get the same amount of time in jail. It is very unfair to give 1 person 5 years for cocaine which is an illegal drug then someone who does crack. I mean there both drugs and its against the law to do them so why give people different times someone who is using illegal drugs.-SJ789
ReplyDeleteI feel like there discriminating between blacks & whites. Why does whites get shorter time than blacks do. We are all equal so race shouldn't change how long your in jail. Obama is doing the right thing because a drug that is illegal no matter if its crack powder or cocaine powder, there both illegal drugs.Everybody that does it should get equal time. If you have more then three bags of cocaine on you get about 5 years which I think isn't fair because three isn't a lot. Some one who has about 8 bags should get about 5 years maybe more. -SJ789
ReplyDeleteNo matter what crime was perpetrated by an offender the sentence should be just and fair, equal. When multiple people commit the same crime, as we all know it happens the same just, fair, and equal sentence needs to be given out as swiftly as the first one. Race, ethnicity, gender, socioeconomic status, geography, etc has no business being apart of sentencing someone for the same crime. Just, fair, and equal. EAW789
ReplyDeleteIt is good to know that the disparity between crack and cocaine has been eliminated. It is ridiculous to think that someone caught with the same amount of crack as someone with cocaine receives a sentence double that of the second person. We talked about how crack is used in poorer areas and by minorities. They have don't have the same connections and resources to keep off 'radar', so they are caught more often than cocaine users which are usually from higher economic standings. Crack and cocaine are the same drug, so why would there be different sentence times for them? In the video it was stated that more blacks were arrested and convicted for crimes related to crack than whites for cocaine; it seems like there is more disparity than just the drugs. I am constantly shocked by how much race has an effect in the criminal justice system. RMG789
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion, Crack should have the longer sentence than cocaine. I think it has more of an effect on your long term state of mind and you become more dependent on it. Even though they are made from the same plant, I believe crack is worse for you. I know a cocaine addict first hand and I understand how bad it is but I will look down on a person more for smoking crack rocks. The video in fact, did seem like it was a racial thing but I'm sure they have numbers to prove that the majority of black offenders are doing crack compared to the coke using whites. LF789
ReplyDelete