The Leadership Conference is working diligently to see that Tom Perez is confirmed as U.S. Secretary of Labor. Perez is an eminently qualified public servant and consensus builder who has dedicated his career to ensuring that all individuals are treated fairly and have the opportunity to succeed. He has served with integrity and distinction at the local, state and national level, compiling an outstanding record of achievement.
Press Release - The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights
Civil and Human Rights Coalition Applauds Supreme Court Ruling Applying the Fair Sentencing Act to Cases in the Pipeline
For Immediate Release
Contact: Scott Westbrook Simpson, 202.466.2061, simpson@civilrights.org
June 21, 2012
Wade Henderson, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in response to the Supreme Court’s ruling in Hill v. United States and Dorsey v. United States. The ruling applies the new, fairer sentencing guidelines based on the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA) to individuals who had been charged with crack cocaine offenses but not yet been sentenced before the FSA was signed into law on August 3, 2010:
“Today's decision by the Supreme Court represents a step forward for greater fairness in our criminal justice system. Congress addressed an intolerable injustice when it passed the Fair Sentencing Act, which reduced but did not eliminate the massive sentencing disparity between crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses. The ruling ensures that those charged under the prior, unjust law, yet sentenced after the passage of the FSA, are afforded the same, fairer treatment as individuals charged with offenses just a few days or weeks later.
As the Court noted, applying the former law ‘to the post-August 3 sentencing of pre-August 3 offenders would create disparities of a kind that Congress enacted the Sentencing Reform Act and the Fair Sentencing Act to prevent.’
The hard truth remains that any disparity in cocaine sentencing is both morally wrong and corrosive to the public trust that sustains our criminal justice system. This decision will provide some measure of relief for families who were caught in the crosshairs between the current law and the unjust former cocaine laws. While we applaud this as another step forward for these communities, the only fair and just solution is a complete elimination of these disparities.”
Wade Henderson is the president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights is a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.
