FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                         CRM
FRIDAY, APRIL 14, 1995                             (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

  JUSTICE DEPARTMENT URGES CONGRESS TO RETAIN HEAVIER PENALTIES
                   FOR CRACK COCAINE OFFENSES 


     WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Justice Department will urge 
Congress to reject a recommendation by the United States
Sentencing Commission that would dramatically reduce the
punishment for trafficking in crack cocaine.

     Attorney General Janet Reno said, "I strongly oppose
measures that fail to reflect the harsh and terrible impact of
crack on communities across America."

     Opposition was also voiced by the United States Attorneys,
who met this week in San Antonio, Texas, and by Jo Ann Harris,
Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Criminal Division,
who represents the Justice Department on a non-voting basis at
meetings of the Sentencing Commission.

     On Monday, the Commission voted 4-3 to make the penalties
for crack cocaine offenses equal to those for powder cocaine,
despite evidence that crack does greater harm to vulnerable
communities.   Although the Justice Department has recognized as
a policy matter that an adjustment in the current penalty
structure might be appropriate, it has maintained that any such
adjustment must reflect the greater dangers associated with crack
as opposed to cocaine powder. 

     "The U.S. Attorneys believe the Sentencing Commission made a
serious mistake in recommending equivalent treatment of crack and
powder cocaine offenses," said Michael Stiles, United States
Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and Chairperson
of the Attorney General's Advisory Committee.  Stiles, who
chaired the annual meeting of U.S. Attorneys in San Antonio, said
"the overwhelming reaction of federal prosecutors is that the
recommendation was inappropriate."

      The Attorney General and the U.S. Attorneys also expressed
their opposition to the Commission's decision to significantly
reduce sentences in money laundering cases -- an important weapon
in combatting narcotics violations, health care fraud and
financial institution fraud.    
    
      Said Jo Ann Harris, "The decision to treat crack and powder
cocaine equally does not reflect the harmful impact of crack
trafficking and the responsibility of law enforcement to protect
the poorest and most threatened communities from narcotics
predators.  The Commission itself, in its recent report to
Congress on crack, identified a number of ways in which crack is
devastating our poor neighborhoods." 

      The Commission's recommendation would become law November l
if no action is taken by Congress to reject it.   Current
sentencing guidelines which impose, in some instances, the same
penalty for one hundred times as much powder as crack, have been
criticized as unfair.  

      Said Harris, "Sound sentencing policy should reflect the
different manner in which the drugs are marketed and the real-life impact on the affected communities, while insuring that
punishment does not unfairly impact on any particular group."
                               

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