Congressional Briefing on Drug Sentencing Reform in the Americas

You are invited to a Congressional briefing

THE FAIR SENTENCING ACT:
BUILDING ON A BREAKTHROUGH IN DRUG SENTENCING REFORM IN THE AMERICAS

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 2011

12:00 - 1:00pm in Room 212-10 of the U.S. Capitol Senate Visitor Center

or

2:00 - 3:00pm in 2226 Rayburn House Office Building

Speakers:

Soffiyah Elijah

Executive Director, Correctional Association of New York

Kara Gotsch

Director of Advocacy, The Sentencing Project

Diana Esther Guzmán

Principal Researcher, DeJuSticia

Bogotá, Colombia

Last year’s passage of the Fair Sentencing Act, legislation that reduced the 100-to-1 sentencing disparity for crack cocaine offenses and eliminated the five-year mandatory minimum for simple possession of crack cocaine, reformed a law universally condemned for its harshness and the racial disparity it produced.  The drug sentencing changes are a milestone, and form part of a larger movement to reconsider long mandatory minimum sentences for low-level drug offenses that pervade sentencing policy in the United States as well as in Latin America.

This event is free of charge and open to the public, but seating may be limited.

Refreshments will be provided.

To attend, please reply to Clay Boggs at [email protected].

Sponsored by The Sentencing Project and the Washington Office on Latin America

The Sentencing Project is a national organization working for a fair and effective criminal justice system by promoting reforms in sentencing law and practice, and alternatives to incarceration.