If you would like to help inmates who are in prison serving harsh punishments for cocaine convictions, please cut and paste the letter below into a word do***ent and send it to the United States Sentencing Commission.

United States Sentencing Commission
One Columbus Circle, N.E.
Suite 2-500, South Lobby
Washington, D.C. 20002-8002

Dear Commissioners:

I am writing to ask you to make the new crack cocaine guideline retroactive. As you know,
the penalties imposed on crack offenders over the past 24 years were very harsh and
disproportionate to the penalties for other drug offenses, especially offenses involving powder
cocaine.  Last year, the Commission played a leading role in convincing Congress to pass the
Fair Sentencing Act, legislation that reduced the disparity between crack and powder cocaine. 
Now that the sentencing guidelines for crack have also been reduced, the Commission should
apply that reduction to people who were sentenced and are imprisoned under the old guideline. It
would be fundamentally unfair to ignore those whose unjust sentences gave rise to passage
of the Fair Sentencing Act and the guideline amendment that followed.

The Commission should also apply retroactivity as it has with past guidelines, in a
straightforward way, without additional restrictions. The Commission made changes to the
LSD guideline retroactive in 1993 without conditions. Two years later, it made a reduction to the
marijuana guideline retroactive without limitation. In 2007, the Commission lowered crack
cocaine sentences somewhat and approved retroactivity. At that time it responded to concerns
voiced by the Bush Justice Department and law enforcement groups by implementing new rules
to protect public safety. They instructed judges to examine the prisoner#146;s conduct, including
while in prison, to assess the impact of early release on community security. This additional
safeguard helps ensure that no dangerous offenders will be released early. Any additional
restrictions on who could be eligible for retroactivity would only perpetuate the sense of
unfairness surrounding crack sentences and undo the good will your work fostered.

I strongly urge the Commission to apply its recent crack guideline amendments retroactively and
to reject any new restrictions that will limit its reach.  Judges have sufficient information and
tools to ensure that only those who should benefit from the reduction will receive it.
Thank you very much for insuring that justice is served.

Sincerely,