Possession of five grams of crack cocaine carries the same sentence as possession of 500 grams powder cocaine, according to federal sentencing guidelines.

Such criminal sentencing disparities will be discussed by legal experts and the public Thursday evening during the Criminal Justice Roundtable in Lesar Auditorium at the School of Law.

The event is sponsored by the Black Law Students’ Association.

Advertisement

Shekera Shahid, president of the organization, said members have been placing advertisements and distributing flyers around campus in hope of drawing a larger cross-section of the student population.

“We want a diverse crowd, and we want to get first-hand opinions from various minority communities while talking to the professionals involved in it everyday,” she said.

The roundtable discussion will feature William Schroeder, a law professor; Thomas Leggans, assistant United States attorney; Patricia Gross, Jackson County chief public defender; Brockton Lockwood, a local attorney; and James Garofalo, chairman of SIUC’s Administration of Justice Department.

Jodie Moore, a first-year law student and secretary of the association, said an open discussion like this is critical for people to understand how the criminal justice system works.

“People say they don’t trust lawyers and the legal system, but we need to stimulate discussion and ideas in the general public,” she said.

The inconsistency in sentencing crack cocaine and powder cocaine felonies is one of many disparities that will be discussed during the roundtable.

Known as the 100-to-1 ratio, possession of five grams of crack cocaine warrants the same criminal sentence as possession of 500 grams of powder cocaine.

Advertisement*

Many watchdog groups, including the American Civil Liberties Union, believe disparities exist throughout the American criminal justice system, particularly racial disparities in sentencing.

Statistics seem to agree with this notion.

In 1994, 51 percent of state and federal prisoners were black and 15 percent were Hispanic.

Black males have a 29 percent chance of serving time in prison at some point in their lives; white males have a 4 percent chance.

Nearly one in three black males, one in eight Hispanic males and one in 15 white males between the ages 20 and 29 are under some type of correctional control.

In Illinois, defendants in cases involving white victims are four times more likely to be sentenced to death.

Of the 232 executions carried out in the U.S. since 1977, only one white has been put to death for the murder of a black.

In addition to racial disparities, there are inconsistencies between sentencing for drunk driving and drug possession and gender bias in sentencing for violent crimes.

Garofalo said he hopes students take away from this discussion a clearer understanding of what the broader issues are.

“Racial disparities in sentencing do exist. The question is what does that mean,” he said. “Disparity just means there is a difference in racial groups. The question is why does that exist.”

Shahid said even though the roundtable is sponsored by the Black Law Students’ Association, it is not strictly a black event.

“I think there are a lot of students who want to know why the criminal justice system is the way it is,” she said. “We are going into the 21st century, and we can’t have these old stereotypes about minorities and sentencing.”

The Criminal Justice Roundtable “Disparity in Criminal Sentencing” is 5 p.m. Thursday in Lesar Auditorium. The event is open to everyone, and admission is free. A reception will follow.