StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...

Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 Analysis - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
The paper "Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 Analysis" focuses on the critical analysis of the major issues in the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. Over the years it has been seen that there has been a controversy within the legal system regarding the penalties levied upon the people who possess drugs…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER92.4% of users find it useful
Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 Analysis
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 Analysis"

Download file to see previous pages

Over the years it has been seen that there has been a controversy within the legal system regarding the penalties levied upon the people who possess drugs. Cocaine possession has been one of the most controversial subjects in the legal system. Anti Drug Acts have a history which dates back to the years of 1986 when the Anti-Drug Abuse Act was passed when the basketball star Len Bias died after consuming a high dose of powder cocaine. The Act imposed a 100-1 disparity between the people who possessed crack cocaine and powder cocaine. It was generally believed that crack was more addictive, dangerous and involved violence in trafficking than powder cocaine. A five-year ban was imposed on people found with five grams of crack whereas a similar mandatory ban was imposed on people who possessed 500 grams of powder cocaine. It was because of this disparity that another act was implemented in 2010 known as The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010. This act lowered the ratio of possession of crack cocaine to powder cocaine in relevant terms of 100:1 to 18:1. The act has been praised by many authorities as it tends to lower the disparity between the people who used to commit these crimes and also save millions of dollars for the government (FAMM, 2011; Stewart, 2010).

The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 was signed by President Obama to lower the disparity between crimes which involved powder cocaine or crack. The Act is not only being implemented for the people who will commit the crime but it is also being made retroactive so that people who are sentenced for the act are allowed some concession too. The Act was introduced after years of reports and research which proved that powder and crack were almost the same drugs with the same lethality. In 1995, the USSC issued a report to Congress about the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986. It put forward that 80% of the crack offenders were black and this was causing serious racial disparities between the races as these blacks were considering the Act to be biased. It was in 1995 that an act was being sought by the USSC regarding the disparity but such an attempt was rejected by the Congress then. In 2002, another report was filed by the USSC which put forward that pharmacologically the harmful effects of crack were similar to that of powder cocaine. It also put forward that the amount of violence in the crimes involving crime was being exaggerated by the reports and was rather creating a disparity of races. In 2007, the USSC filed another report to Congress which appealed that the imprisonment of 5 years for the simple possession of crack should be decreased and the ratio of the possession of crack should also be decreased for a crime. Over these years many other conclusions and recommendations were forwarded to Congress by the USSC and finally, in 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 came into being so that these disparities could be removed (FAMM, 2011). The Act came into being so that the criminals involved in the usage or trafficking of powder cocaine were also brought to justice. Moreover, the problems between races were also targeted by the Act so that neither race could conclude that the Acts were against them only. On 28th July 2010 the United States Attorney General Eric Holder stated that “I congratulate the House of Representatives on today’s passage of the Fair Sentencing Act. The bill greatly reduced the unwarranted disparity of for crack and powder cocaine offences and will go a long way toward ensuring that our sentencing laws are tough, consistent and fair” (Reid, p. 305).

This statement clearly shows that the Act was an attempt to clear the disparity between different crimes involving cocaine. The Act eliminated the minimum 5-year penalty for people who were found to possess crack cocaine. It further increased the penalties for other crimes which involved drugs and were considered to be more violent (Reid, 2012). The Sentencing Act seems to be quite successful in removing the disparities between the crimes committed. The Act considers all the people involved in the crimes and gives a chance to everyone. The danger of crack and powder cocaine has both been realized and the individual possessing either would be charged accordingly. Moreover, the Act is getting retroactive so that it can consider those people who were previously found guilty of possessing crack. This clearly shows that the act has not gone far enough or left behind any stone unturned in correcting the disparities (Stewart, 2010).

The problem of drugs has been very old in the United States of America. The Free Sentencing Act of 2010 is an attempt to remove the differences which were previously created by the Anti-Drug Act of 1986. It is also believed that the act would help to economize the budget invested in criminal activities. It is believed that it would decrease the number of crack sentences by almost 27 months and save an estimated $42 million in the coming five years. Moreover, it is also estimated that around 1500 beds in the prison would also be saved as these crimes seem to be a lot prevalent in American society (FAMM, 2011). These things can then be used effectively for other important purposes. All these points add up to the effectiveness of the Act as these figures can then be invested in a better form. The Act has so far proved to be successful and it is believed that over the coming years, it will prove its effectiveness by reducing the disparity created by the previous Act and would benefit the American government in monetary terms also.

...Download file to see next pages Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Narcotics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words”, n.d.)
Narcotics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1581045-narcotics
(Narcotics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words)
Narcotics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1581045-narcotics.
“Narcotics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/miscellaneous/1581045-narcotics.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 Analysis

Evaluation of the Program: Circle Sentencing

his study stresses that the concept of Circle sentencing has been in place in a number of places since it was first instituted in New Zealand and then exported to Australia, Canada and the United States.... The Circle sentencing is primarily used in ethnic or tribal situations where cultural environments promote the full group as being active in helping one of its members rather than having the offender be removed to face judicial justice by incarceration.... The idea of utilizing the Circle sentencing came into play in 1999 (Rekhari 2006-07), first in Port Adelaide, then 2002 in New South Wales (NSW), because it was evident that the indigenous peoples, most often the Aborigines, were becoming...
21 Pages (5250 words) Essay

Circle Sentencing Program Evaluation

The essay "Circle Sentencing Program Evaluation" focuses on the critical analysis of the major issues in the evaluation of the Circle Sentencing Program.... : How will the timeline for the project be established in order to attain the information needed for each part of the data gathering process and for analysis of each section? ... : How will we establish the centralization of the data received as we prepare it for further analysis and how will we provide for its protection? ...
16 Pages (4000 words) Essay

CRJS300 U1IP

critical analysis of these shows would illustrate that a perception of a given authority in the show depends on its overall theme.... The Practice has managed to show court as a just institution fulfilling its duties as it is supposed to do.... However, it further presents a notion that judiciary including....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Impacts of Californias Criminal Justice Realignment

Evaluating the Impacts of California's Criminal Justice Realignment List of tables Table analysis of the realignment income tax model ... able 2 analysis of funding for the first three years ... able 3 analysis of the number of offenders in prisons between 2011 and 2013 ... ata analysis 15 ... The analysis included other legislations such as sentencing laws and their effects on realignment in the state (Watkins, & Burton, 2013). ...
20 Pages (5000 words) Thesis

Criminal court process in United Kingdom

ehabilitation is one key way that can help minimize if not deter crime (Davies, Croall, & Tyrer, 2010).... (2010).... s per section 5 of Misuse of Drugs act 1971, it is unlawful for any person to have possession of any controlled drug such as cannabis and Cocaine (Legislation.... Under the same act, the police are empowered under section 23 to carry on any searches in a bid to unveil the possession of any controlled drug and any person that tries to hinder them from effecting this becomes liable under the act (Legislation....
10 Pages (2500 words) Essay

Sentencing Discrepancies between Minorities and Whites Charged

he objective of the sentencing guidelines was set by the sentencing reforms act of 1984 to reduce the disparity in sentencing among similar offenders.... Sentencing Reform act of 1984: A Practical Appraisal, The.... However, sentencing today is often surreptitious process a factor that is manifest in the massive numbers of racially discriminatory outcomes in certain circumstances (Hurwitz & Peffley, 2010).... Reiman and Lieghton 2010, for instance, observe that the whole criminal justice system is biased against the poor and that there exist a general refusal to accept and seek to remedy the vice....
16 Pages (4000 words) Research Paper

The Law for the Protection of Children against Unnecessary Criminalization in the UK

The UK government proposed the LASPO act of 2012 as a bill and ascended it in 2013.... Introduction The UK government proposed the LASPO act of as a bill and ascended it in The Act1 defines clear and flexible responses to behaviors of children and youths' involvement in crime.... efore the establishment of The Crime and Disorder act of 1998, responsibility for deciding responses to criminal acts of children was in the hands of the police.... he Crime and Disorder act of 1998 gave a chance for exercising inflexible responses to offending by children....
10 Pages (2500 words) Coursework

Fines as the Most Common Form of Sentencing

Moreover, restrictions in the use of Indeterminate sentences for Public Protection under the Criminal Justice and Immigration act of 2008 has also coincided with increased long determinate sentences of at least ten years (Blom-Cooper, 2014: p32).... cNeill and Dawson (2014: p898), in exploring the practice of probation as related to prison-based work, court work, and integration of new developments, locates a radical critique of the practice within a Marxist framework of analysis....
8 Pages (2000 words) Assignment
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us