Washington, DC (Jan 17, 2025) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) commends President Biden’s decision to commute the sentences of individuals convicted of non-violent drug offenses who are serving disproportionately long sentences compared with the sentences they would receive today under current law and policies. This includes individuals sentenced under the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity, which has exacerbated the vast racial disparities in the criminal legal system. Crack cocaine drug enforcement continues to fall most heavily on Black communities. While these clemencies alleviate past unfairness, NACDL calls for the passage of the EQUAL Act, a bill which would eliminate the federal sentencing disparity between drug offenses involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine.
“Even as critical sentencing reforms have passed, we have watched as individuals languish in prison for charges which would now result in much lower sentences,” said NACDL Executive Director Lisa Wayne. “This announcement rectifies this injustice. We are grateful to President Biden for setting a record for the most presidential pardons and commutations in U.S. history and recognizing the continued impact of America’s cruel war on drugs and the racist sentencing disparities that plague our carceral system. In addition to providing warranted sentencing relief, this announcement is an important step in the fight for drug law reform. We urge Congress to take up this fight and pass the EQUAL Act.”
In 1986, the passage of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act in Congress established a 100:1 sentencing disparity for offenses related to crack cocaine versus powder cocaine. Under this statute, an individual charged with having 1 gram of crack cocaine would face the same penalties as someone charged with having 100 grams of powder cocaine. In 2010, the Fair Sentencing Act cut that disparity to 18:1 by increasing the quantities of crack cocaine that triggered mandatory minimums in federal drug trafficking cases. The First Step Act, enacted in 2018, made the Fair Sentencing Act retroactive, applying the law to the remaining 3,000 people who were convicted of crack offenses before 2010. While this was a step in the right direction, an unnecessary sentencing disparity remains, leaving many behind.
“We are elated for those whose sentences were commuted and their families, but well aware that our system of over-policing, over-charging, and over-sentencing continues to disproportionately harm Black and brown communities,” said NACDL President Christopher Wellborn. “NACDL calls on the incoming Trump administration to work to redress these harms.”
NACDL’s Return to Freedom Project helps those serving overly harsh sentences seek relief by partnering with organizations to recruit, train, and support pro bono volunteers to secure clemency and compassionate release. Projects include the Federal Compassionate Release Clearinghouse, a partnership between NACDL and FAMM to recruit attorneys to file compassionate release motions for vulnerable incarcerated individuals and individuals serving excessive sentences.
Contacts
Jessie Diamond, Deputy Director, Public Affairs and Communications, (202) 465-7647 or jdiamond@nacdl.org
The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL's many thousands of direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling up to 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal legal system.
