To the Point
Repairing Injustice in the War on Drugs
Congress has relaxed overly harsh and discriminatory penalties for crack, as opposed to powder cocaine. But federal prisons are still full of blacks and whites serving different sentences for the same crimes. Also, a transit strike in France, and some big decisions for Michael Mukasey, the new Attorney General.
By Warren Olney • • 1h 0m ListenCongress has relaxed overly harsh and discriminatory penalties for crack, as opposed to powder cocaine. But federal prisons are still full of blacks and whites serving different sentences for the same crimes. Should sentencing guidelines be made retroactive? Would that lead to the sudden release of 20,000 prisoners, crowding the courts and increasing crime? Also, a transit strike in France, and some big decisions for Michael Mukasey, the new Attorney General. Were Blackwater guards unjustified in killing Iraqi civilians? Can they be prosecuted?
Photo: Metropolitan Drug Commission
In this episode
3 storiesFrench Transit Workers' Strike Tests Sarkozy's Power
Labor unions tried to paralyze France today with a transit strike. It's a direct challenge to the new President, Nicola Sarkozy who is trying to succeed at reforms where his predecessors have failed. David Gauthier-Villars reports from Paris for the Wall Street Journal .
Read the story6 minMandatory Sentencing in the War on Drugs
Federal laws passed in the 1980's provided the same prison sentence for dealing in five grams of crack cocaine as for 500 grams of powder, a ratio of 100-to-1.
Read the story36 minWill Blackwater Guards Be Prosecuted for Killing Iraqi Civilians?
On September 15, Blackwater personnel guarding a State Department convoy killed 17 Iraqis on the streets of Baghdad. The guards have insisted they used their weapons in self-defense after being fired on first by civilians. Today's New York Times reports that FBI investigators have found the guards were unjustified in killing of 14 of the 17.
Read the story7 min
