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H.R. 1459, The Fairness in Cocaine Sentencing Act of 2009 (25 comments ↓ | 4 wiki edits)
H.R. 1459 would amend the Controlled Substances Act and the Controlled Substances Import and Export Act regarding penalties for cocaine offenses.
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Visitor Comments
MsSweety
(logged in user) May 14, 2009, 1:32am (report abuse)Please pass this bill!! This is the right thing to do. We need to restore peace of mind and trust back in the government. This is the way to *begin*. Thank you.
CRT
May 17, 2009, 10:34pm (report abuse)How does this restore trust in the government? I certainly don't trust a government that would allow druggies to serve shorter sentences. Stick them away and leave them there.
MsSweety
(logged in user) May 25, 2009, 1:35am (report abuse)CRT, you are obviously seeking attention & seem to be craving some knowledge.
It is a humans birthright, to consume, read, practice and live their life as they see fit. You may not like that people use drugs, practice religion, are a certain color, or brush their hair a certain way, but it doesn't excuse causing them harm, taking away their human and civil rights or destroying their lives.
FYI, in North Korea, if you even talk about the Bible, the government will kill you. They have underground churches where they whisper the teachings. Now if you can fathom, for just a moment outside of your wonderful little bubble, that there are actually people in this world today, who believe that Christians should be wiped off the face of the planet, just as you believe "druggies" should be, as you mentioned on other comment boards, that they should be hung "rope is cheap. In N. Korea, they line Christian people up and run them over with tracktors, because it's cheaper than using bullets.
MsSweety
(logged in user) May 25, 2009, 1:40am (report abuse)Most sain and decent human beings look upon this with great horror and disgust, but to many N. Koreans, this is normal and very acceptable. Some, like you, actually take great pleasure and feel self-rightious in the mass destruction and genocide of other humans for their practices, beliefs, etc.
Much the same, the world looks upon America's criminal destruction "war on American's" with horror and disgust, but to many people (far less, now, with education and awareness), especially those like you, this is normal and acceptable behavior.
Jesus Christ once said-
“Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”
“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”
and Mohandas Gandhi once said-
"An error does not become truth by reason of multiplied propagation, nor does truth become error because nobody sees it."
MsSweety
(logged in user) May 25, 2009, 1:44am (report abuse)Justice Kennedy ABA speech of
2003 "It's use has become most infrequent because of the soft on
crime charge that's always made. And in all too many instances the pardon power has been
drained of its moral force. It should be reinvigorated. A country which is secure in its
institutions, confident in its laws should not be ashamed of the concept of mercy. As the greatest of poets has said 'mercy is the mightiest in the mightiest. It becomes the throned monarch better than his crown". The advisory guideline sentence and mandatory minimum's are too harsh and are "greater than necessary."
Speech available at http://www.abanews.org/kencomm/amkspeech03.html "Our resources are
misspent, our punishments too severe; our sentences too long. the sentencing guidelines
are responsible in part for the increased terms and they should be revised downward."
Ranum, 353 F.Supp. 2d at 985 n.1
MsSweety
(logged in user) May 25, 2009, 1:56am (report abuse)Think about all of the "little things" in life that you enjoy. All of those nice little freedoms and treasures that make you happy each day and then ask yourself.. "how I would feel if someone came along and snatched me away from my home, my family, took everything I owned, sentenced me to ten or 60 years in a prison of violence and abuse away from everything I know and love??
Can you even begin to imagine? Or are the lives of others nothing but a number to you?
It's easy to go after the people for things inwhich you are against, but what if people came after you for doing things which they felt were wrong? Where does it end? How many of these people, I wonder, even understand the concept of that which our Constitution was founded on..
shawn
May 25, 2009, 3:39am (report abuse)let the coke heads rot in jail.
LEGALIZE MARIJUANA.
i buy my herb from a crack head gang banger and would be more than happy to turn him in, if i could only get MY smoke at the local cigarette shop.
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July 29, 2009, 9:36pm (report abuse)Poor McSweety,
It's against the law but you don't like that. I guess you should move somewhere where it is legal. That is if you can find that place.
.
August 1, 2009, 8:55am (report abuse)Yeah, maybe Singapore or Indonesia. I hear they really like druggies.
SazzyRN
August 3, 2009, 7:58am (report abuse)Shawn that is a very disturbed statement about letting coke heads rot in jail, while admittedly you are a pothead; how ironic!!! If you hadn't noticed but MARY JANE is against the law as well so what is the difference. If coke heads should rot so should you!
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August 7, 2009, 10:26am (report abuse)What's the matter Sazzy, afraid you are next?
Elmo
August 8, 2009, 11:40pm (report abuse)I'm not saying drugs are good. I was on drugs since I was 8 years old. I wish I had never tried it. But, nevertheless,how can we lock a person up for life for trafficking drugs? Should we lock up the person caught trafficking, or the person that introduced him, or the person that introduced the person that introduced him? Or, should we lock up the CIA agents that dropped cocaine into our neighborhoods? Oliver North never did a day in jail, but his acts triggered an epidemic.
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September 5, 2009, 9:40am (report abuse)Why not? Do the crime do the time. And all your excuses don't hold water. Maybe you are worried that they are going to catch you peddling on the corner?
para
September 15, 2009, 11:55am (report abuse)Apparently, no one is really reading the bill. At the present time, crack offenses are sentenced at the ratio of 100 times of the quantity of cocaine. In other words, if you are charged with selling 5 grams of crack, you are sentenced at the current guidelines of 500 grams of cocaine. The original guidelines were set during the heyday of the Reagan administration's "Just Say No" campaign, and and is unfair as crack and cocaine are basically the same drug. In fact, without cocaine there would be no crack, so the sentencing guidelines should actually be the other way around. This old ratio is sentencing offenders unfairly. A person who rapes a child gets less jail time than someone who sells over 5K of crack. Personally, I'd rather have the child rapists do the time.
CDB
September 15, 2009, 7:48pm (report abuse)I want them all locked up. And throw away the key. It should be life with no possibility of parole for drugs.
MISS TB
September 19, 2009, 10:33am (report abuse)The sentencing quidelines are ridiciuosly unfair a person that murders someone have a better chance of seeing daylight before a drug dealer just trying to feed himself and family because of this screwed up economy that wont allow them to make no other kind of means of income they are taking people away from there families ands kids for a very long time but the murders, and rapist, and child molesters can make back to see daylight, the system is really screwed up and something needs to be done to change it not for the worst but for the best strart enforcing more mandatory drug programs meaner parole officers something besides put them away like there is no means to the lofe that they are living
CDB
September 23, 2009, 4:26pm (report abuse)So MISS TB thinks it is ok for someone to sell drugs just because the economy is bad. What kind of silly drivel is that? I say lock them up for life. That way we won't have to worry about them being on the street corner selling drugs.
nevermind
September 25, 2009, 9:07pm (report abuse)i agree with miss tb
i am waiting for sentencing on federal drug charges, a year before i got indicted i changed my life around i got three small children i will be leaving for all the stupid mistakes i made in the past. if the feds were investigating they should have seen that. but since i am sober i believe it is gods will for me instead of my own will. my will for myself just got me in trouble but since i have been doing gods will life is a lot better. except for this trial god is putting me thro. but i believe everything will be ok know matter how long i go to jail, all i can do is pray and hope for the best. and to CRT you wish bad on people,go to church are to bible study and learn something about god.
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September 30, 2009, 2:04pm (report abuse)nevermind,
I hope you enjoy your time in jail. You certainly deserve every day you get.
gotRecovery
October 6, 2009, 7:34pm (report abuse)nevermind,
I will say a prayer for you & understand that drug addiction is a disease, not a moral choice.
...
October 9, 2009, 12:46am (report abuse)Yeah, let's blame it on anything but the real problem. Losers use drugs. And anybody involved in using or selling drugs needs to go to jail for a long time.
Cwell
October 29, 2009, 10:32pm (report abuse)I feel that the guidelines are not fair. Drugs are here and it will take a lifetime to get them off the streets. The ratio needs to be the same. African American people are a target when it comes to crack. 80.6 percent of African Americans make up the federal crack offenders. This bill is not only for crack offenders, its about over sentencing individuals with drug charges. This hurts families,and society. You dont sentence someone 100 times more than you would another person that commits the same crime. Their is no difference between crack and power cocaine. Its the same drug but used in different ways.
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October 30, 2009, 12:09am (report abuse)Drug users should all be locked up. It sdoesn't matter what color the skin, send them all away for life. Period.
CDB
October 30, 2009, 12:12am (report abuse)Ah yes, the poor downtrodden black man. What a load of horse manure. If you use or sell drugs then you should be put in prison for the rest of your sorry life.
Sylvia
November 18, 2009, 5:36pm (report abuse)Have you heard about the move to make the sentences even harder? Sounds like all of this is going to backfire on us.