Crack Sentencing Data Shows Extreme Racial Disparity

Federal Sentencing Commission data after the Anti-Drug Abuse Act shows that 80% of federal crack cocaine defendants are Black, while roughly 75% of powder cocaine defendants are white or Latino. The same drug, treated differently by race of user, now carries a 100:1 weight ratio for mandatory minimums. Critics call it the most racially discriminatory federal sentencing law since the 19th century.