Cracked justice: HRW testifies to Congress on the unfairness in cocaine sentencing

Overcrowding is a big problem in the U.S. prison system today. We're sending a lot of people to jail for drug use and nonviolent offenses.

According to Wikipedia, "In absolute terms, the United States currently has the largest inmate population in the world, with more than 2½ million in prison and jails, even though violent crime and property crime have been declining since the 1990s according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Although the United States represents less than 5% of the world's population, over 25% of the people incarcerated around the world are housed in the American prison system."

Tough on crime, or just too tough on people who would be better off in rehab or other programs?

Also a factor is an apparent racial bias in sentencing.

So yesterday Human Rights Watch (HRW) submitted a written testimony to the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security. HRW "urges Congress to pass legislation to remedy the disproportionately harsh and racially discriminatory penal sanctions for federal crack and cocaine offenses. While the public health, social, and economic consequences of the use and sale of cocaine -- in any form -- warrant public concern, they do not justify disproportionate prison sentences that are racially discriminatory, violate US treaty obligations, and defy basic principles of criminal justice."

>> Read HRW's full testimony.