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The Differences Between the Sentences |
Current rating: 1 |
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by ScottMylxine |
07 May 2004
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The war on drugs in America has long been a war on the poor. Congress made it official when they called for harsher sentencing for crack cocaine, used often by the lower class, as opposed to powder cocaine used more often by people with means. Locally, two major cases highlighted the differences between who goes to jail for life and who doesn't. |
A few days ago, members of the local rap group "Warrington Celebrities" were sentenced to prison for the sale and distribution of crack coacaine. Although the sentences ranged from several months to several years, one sentence was particularly harsh.
Terry Newkirk, whose father was sent to prison when he was 9 and started using cocaine at the age of 14, asked the judge in the case "Have mercy on me." The judge said, because Newkirk wouldn't give any names to the prosecutors, he had no choice in the sentencing. Terry Newkirk, age 27, was sentenced to spend the rest of his life in prison.
A few months back, another drug ring that was involved in the selling and distribution of cocaine was busted in Pensacola. The drug ring was run out of a popular beach restaurant and bar called The Sandshaker. In "Operation Sandshaker", several members of the ring were sentenced to minimal sentences, while the ring leaders recieved between 3/12 to 15 years.
To date, no one nabbed in Operation Sandshaker has been sentenced to life in prison.
The difference between the sentencing of the Warrington Celebrities and the Sandshaker defendants have to deal with both race and class issues. The Sandshaker cocaine ring was made up of mostly white, wealthy, and some prominent members of the community who bought, sold, and used powder cocaine. The Warrington Celebrities were black, lower working class, rappers who bought, sold, and used crack cocaine.
The notion that the judicial and prison system are unfair and racist are not new. It's also not a new notion that blacks and the lower class get harsher sentences than the white upper class. In fact, nothing is new about this. The war on drugs is and always has been a war against the poor. While many can do the same crime, many will not do the same time.
There may be protests within the community over this case. And to that matter, I don't think anyone is calling for harsher sentences for anyone, but only for some sanity and a sense of fairness in this war on drugs. But as Terry Newkirk sits in his prison cell, possibly for the rest of his natural life, and others who did the same crime but only had a more upper-class clientele wait for release, fairness may seem more like a fairy tale with each passing day. As the war on drugs continues to be a war on the poor, if the community is waiting for fairness and sanity, the community will probably be waiting for a long time. |
This work is in the public domain. |
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Re: The Differences Between the Sentences |
by krys
messofme (nospam) yahoo.com (unverified) |
Current rating: 0
20 May 2004
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GREAT article, scotty. So sad that we still deal with these sorts of prejudices at this late date. |
