Inconsistent — 05/07/08

Sat, May 17 2008

— Craig Allen Thomas of Ashland won something of a victory before the 9th District U.S. Court of Appeals Monday, but it probably was not the one he wanted. Instead of overturning Thomas’ conviction for possession with intent to distribute 50 grams or more of crack cocaine, the appeals court sent the case back to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Iowa for resentencing. Thomas still is likely to spend many years behind bars, but he may get his 250-month sentence reduced.
Thomas maintained that the disparity between crack and powder cocaine in the federal sentencing guidelines has an “unjust effect on crack cocaine offenders.” He’s right. It is blatantly unfair that under federal sentencing guidelines, a person convicted of selling crack can be sentenced to far more time in prison than a person selling the same amount of powder cocaine.
Civil rights advocates contend that while the majority of people selling powder cocaine are white while most of those selling crack are black, the discrepancy in the sentencing guidelines are based more on race than in the seriousness of the offenses. Statistics point to just that.
The U.S. Supreme Court told the 8th Circuit to further consider the case based on an earlier court ruling, which said courts may reduce sentences from the guidelines because of the disparity between crack and powder cocaine offenses. The 8th Circuit Court said it’s unclear whether the district court understood it could vary from the sentencing guidelines.
“We cannot tell from the sentencing record in this case whether the district court would have granted Thomas’s request for a downward variance if the district court had known it could do so,” the 8th Circuit Court said in its ruling. “Under such circumstances, a remand for resentencing is appropriate.”
So, Thomas’ conviction stands. The best he can hope for from Monday’s ruling is a little less time in prison. Beyond that, this case has the promise of establishing a degree of consistency and equality for those convicted of selling cocaine — whether it is crack that is smoked or powder that is inhaled.