Former prosecutor testifies about sentences for crack cocaine offenses

WASHINGTON -- Former federal prosecutor Veronica Coleman-Davis of Memphis, testifying Thursday before the House Judiciary subcommittee on crime, said she made a conscious decision that her office would not prosecute "five gram crack cases."

Coleman-Davis, the U.S. attorney for the western district of Tennessee from 1993 to 2001, was one of seven witnesses testifying about the effect of the disparity between federal sentences for convictions for possession of powder cocaine versus crack cocaine.

Victoria  Coleman-Davis

Victoria Coleman-Davis

She and others testified that the disproportionate share of convictions for crack offenses are African Americans and that the system is perceived to be unfair. Republicans on the subcommittee pointed out that, when the disparity in sentencing was written into the law in 1986, black members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., were avid proponents of it.

Coleman-Davis said that some black children now see "incarceration as a normative rite of passage," adding, "we not only need to end the disparate sentences, but we also need to ensure some means of prevention, intervention and healing for those affected by incarcerated parents."

Coleman-Davis also said she'd "witnessed drug stings that were solely focused on housing projects where sales were to people driving up in cars from outside the community... Arresting low-level street dealers selling crack is like shooting fish in a barrel."

She said the prosecution of sellers and users of powder cocaine took longer to develop leads to get search warrants for "upscale homes" that led to "long, drawn out court battles with highly paid attorneys" resulting in lower conviction-rate statistics.

She mentioned that she had been "challenged" by a reporter about the lower number of prosecutions she pursued compared to her predecessors. In response, she said she sought to dismantle organizations, not catch low-level individuals.

"I firmly believe that it is not the duty of a prosecutor to simply obtain convictions by the numbers, but to do justice," she said. "The pressure to obtain convictions in order to appear to be tough on crime is not doing justice."

Also testifying before the subcommittee were an assistant attorney general in the U.S. Justice Department's criminal division who said the Obama administration welcomes review of the sentencing guidelines, and the head of the U.S. Sentencing Commission, who reiterated its recommendation to end the disparity.

Perhaps the most dramatic testimony came from former Kansas City Royals baseball player Willie M. Aikens, sentenced to 20 years and 8 months after being set up by an undercover cop. He testified that he petitioned the court for a reduction in his sentence and was released last year, but not before spending 14 years in prison.

In better times, Aikens had the distinction of hitting two home runs in both Game One and Game Two of the 1980 World Series, a feat that has not yet been repeated.

-- Bartholomew Sullivan: (202) 408-2726


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Comments » 10

askia7 writes:

the organization that needs to be dismantled is the government

oeselecta7 writes:

I agree child molestors, rapists and kidnappers gets less time and these are non consential acts.The people whom purchase drugs are willing and know the outcome. Why punish the drug dealers and not the government whom allowed the drugs over here in the first place. Most drug dealers have never been outside of Memphis so how in the world all of a sudden they the political connections( when they're not business minded nor investors),planes, (most are afraid of heights)chemistrys and chemical to create, the building to house the drugs ( when their only focus is rims girls and cars)It's racial the mob (mainly italians) have been dealing drugs and other crimes for generations not years they make up less than 1% of the population in jail. However, Black men make up the majority. Some of these judges, lawyers and cops need to be locked up.Lets not forget pfizer, weight loss drug makers, proctor and gamble and even people from the FDA for allowing the drugs with very dangerous effects on the market legally.These drugs are killing us and our children slowly everyday directly or indirectly (cancer etc) Lock them up

boboberg writes:

The "war on drugs" is really a "war on black people". Blacks have been singled out for persecution and the police in their neighborhoods act more like enemy occupying forces than our employees. Are we going to continue to militarize the police until they begin shooting black people at will just for walking down the street? They already break down their front doors without even knocking, destroy and confiscate property without warrants and treat black people as the enemy. I agree with blacks who refuse to co-operate with the police under any circumstance and refuse to "snitch" on their neighbors. The police are useless and have to be stopped. Removing the disparity in sentencing between crack and powdered cocaine is the first step in getting the cops off the black man's back. Legalize ALL DRUGS NOW. Mark Montgomery

bornin47 writes:

This entitlement society of victims is getting old. Do the crime, do the time. Ms Coleman-Davis is obviously a spineless wimp.

Grizzbabe writes:


Way to go, Ms. Coleman-Davis. I wish more prosecutors were like you.

ty9098#273066 writes:

I'm glad she's the FORMER prosecutor!

FBIsecretary writes:

in response to bornin47:


Well said!

s_arrow24#666954 writes:

in response to bornin47:


Entitlement? I'm sorry, but if you're cool with just throwing folks in jail without solving a problem, you're useless. Plain and simple. I'm not one to cry over the plight of a dealer, but the logical question is how does a high school drop out get drugs in the first place? Who is distributing them? Who owns the truck that a Mexican guy get busted in transporting this stuff? Where is it kept and who owns the storehouse? I think that if the government is going to jail the low level guys, it should try equally as hard to catch people further up the chain as well. That would be justice. But really all this goes to the fact that we have lazy prosecutors, agents, etc. that feel entitled.

thecollector writes:

Everyone talks about the disparity in the number of afro-americans in jail as opposed to the numbers of whites. Isn't it just a matter of demographics. Afro-americans make up the biggest percentage of population in the Memphis metro area.

bryanepis writes:

If you'd like to help end the sentencing disparities between crack (which is just powdered cocaine that is cooked to take the impurities out) and powdered cocaine, then please sign a petition found here:

However, please add the following paragraph:

There is also a disparity between indoor marijuana growers growing 100 small plants one foot in diameter vs. an outdoor grower growing plants 6 feet in diameter. They both get 5 years in federal prison but the outdoor grower grows 64 times as much at 6ft diameter v. 1 foot in diameter. Punishment, if any, should be based on square footage of growing area, not number of plants.

P.S. If you'd like to help change marijuana laws, please sign the petitions mentioned at (this page isn't linked from my home page as I want to keep the hotel reservation site separate).


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