Crack Sentence Gets High Court Review
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge's decision to slice a few years off a lengthy prison term has brought to the Supreme Court the racially tinged issue of harsh sentences for dealing crack cocaine.
Derrick Kimbrough, a black veteran of the 1991 Gulf War, received a 15-year-prison term for selling both crack and powder cocaine, as well as possessing a firearm in Norfolk, Va. Most crack defendants in federal court are black.
Federal sentencing guidelines called for a range of 19 years to 22 years in prison, but U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson said the higher range was "ridiculous."
Whether Jackson has the discretion to ignore the guidelines is the issue before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.Contiued:
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hbz1SKGH-haZCF_iEfTIGIwlozwAD8S0V0V03
=============================
EDIT: COPYRIGHT. PLEASE POST
ONLY 4 OR 5 PARAGRAPHS FROM
THE COPYRIGHTED NEWS SOURCE
PER DU RULES.
