Crack penalty cut urged: Compton lawmaker says legal disparity is unfair to blacks, poor.

A California legislator is pushing to reduce penalties for possessing crack cocaine for sale, saying state law disproportionately affects African Americans and low-income groups. Assemblyman Mervyn Dymally, D-Compton, said the criminal justice system sends a subtle message of racism by imposing harsher sentences for possessing rock cocaine than powdered cocaine. "Not that I condone the use of (any form of cocaine). I think it's all bad,' Dymally said. "But you don't solve a bad problem by making it worse with your policies.' Crack cocaine, also called rock, is less expensive than powdered cocaine and often is peddled on streets in low-income neighborhoods. California sentencing guidelines call for prison terms ranging from three to five years for possessing crack cocaine for sale, compared with two to four years for the same crime involving powder cocaine. Dymally's AB 125 would equalize the penalties by cutting one year off the minimum and maximum term for possessing crack cocaine. "If science says that both these substances are cocaine, why would you make the sentence greater for one over the other?' said Simeon Gant of Sacramento's Drug Policy Alliance, which is sponsoring AB 125. The disparity in prison terms applies only to possession of cocaine for sale, not trafficking, for which the maximum penalty is five years in prison. [more]