Read Marc Mauer's Testimony to Congress Re Crack Cocaine Sentencing Disparity

House Committee to Hold Hearing on Fairness of Crack Cocaine Sentencing, Thursday, May 21

The U.S. House of Representative’s Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security will convene a hearing tomorrow at 10am to examine the “Unfairness in Federal Cocaine Sentencing: Is it Time to Crack the 100 to 1 Disparity?” located in the Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2237. Marc Mauer, executive director of The Sentencing Project, will testify before the Committee and urge Congress to eliminate the harsh mandatory penalties for low-level crack cocaine offenses.

Tomorrow’s hearing follows the Obama Administration’s recent endorsement of the complete elimination of the crack cocaine sentencing disparity. Since that historic announcement, national and regional newspapers have published editorials supporting the need for legislative change, and public interest and concern regarding the disparity has intensified. Tomorrow’s hearing is the next step towards moving legislation through Congress.

To read Marc Mauer’s hearing testimony, click here.  The complete hearing witness list follows:

Panel I
The Honorable Charles B. Rangel, (D) NY 15th District
The Honorable Sheila Jackson Lee, (D) TX 18th District
The Honorable Roscoe G. Bartlett, (R) MD 6th District
 The Honorable Maxine Waters, (D) CA 35th District
 
For more information go to the Committee on the Judiciary Web site.