06-22-2020, 03:56 PM
(06-22-2020, 03:42 PM)Belsnickel Wrote: Yes, those specific laws were. Only to be replaced with laws like those against drug use that have harsher punishments for those drugs perceived as being use predominantly by black people. There are tons of examples of this sort of thing that show how this is a perpetual issue going on.
No there are not "tons of examples", and many of the disparities between crack and powder cocaine sentnces was corrected in 2010.
But the excessive sentences for crack were not based on race. They were based on the violence that surrounded the crack cocaine business. In the early 90's the murder rate in the US was 100% higher than it is now, and it was just about the same for other violent crimes. And the main reason was the high number of "drug wars" between intercity gangs dealing crack. Did it impact blacks and poor whites more than other groups? Yes. Was it based on race? No. It was based on a public safety policy to address the out-of-control level of violence in the streets.
