NATION IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : Sentencing Rules Cited for Disparities
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Mandatory sentences for some federal crimes--such as drug and weapons offenses--lead to the very kinds of sentencing disparities they are intended to reduce, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reported. Blacks are sentenced more harshly than whites or Latinos under the mandatory system, while street-level drug couriers get long terms more often than high-level drug distributors or importers, the commission said in a congressionally mandated report.
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