Woman asks Obama to cut 27-year term for crack

No one wants to be 'soft on crime" so we continue to lock em up!!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100211/ap_on_go_su_co/us_cocaine_sentencing_obama

Woman asks Obama to cut 27-year term for crack


By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer Mark Sherman, Associated Press Writer – Thu Feb 11, 5:37 pm ET

WASHINGTON – A woman serving a 27-year prison term for a crack cocaine conspiracy is asking President Barack Obama to use his power of forgiveness for the first time since taking office to commute her sentence.

Two federal judges have called the prison term for Hamedah Hasan, formerly known as Stephanie Lomax, excessive and would have imposed a 12-year sentence. But they were hemmed in by federal law that punishes crack crimes more heavily than those involving powder cocaine.

Now Hasan and a group that includes civil rights advocates and law professors say Obama should use the president's power, enshrined in the Constitution, to shorten her sentence and address the disparity in prison terms for crack and powder cocaine.

Obama has called for Congress to eliminate the disparity, but the American Civil Liberties Union and others in the group backing Hasan argue that while bills to do that languish on Capitol Hill the president should use the pardon power to bring sentences into line on his own.

Like Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush before him, Obama did not make use of his pardon power in his first year in office.......................

Ah, now that I see the article "Hasan was convicted in 1993 for her role in a multistate conspiracy to deal crack cocaine. She received a life sentence that was shortened to 27 years. She had no prior criminal record and, had she been convicted of the same crime involving powder cocaine, would have been released from prison by now, her supporters say."

No. She won't get a pardon. If it were something like possession, there would be less political liability. Pardoning crack dealers is a no-no.

I noticed that Obama admitted to using coke, but did not do any time. Was Obama's drug use "victim-less"? If a crime has a victim, then the perp should do time.

This lady would be free if she was dealing a rich person drug. She is in jail cause she was dealing a poor person drug..

There's her problem, IMO.

I can see the Fox headline now: OBAMA PARDONS MUSLIM CRACK DEALER

I'm sorry.. but there are plenty of people sitting in prison right now for things they didn't do, or for things they were very much "Over-Punished" for. This chick may have a beef.. but it's a long line, and I don't think she should be at the front of it.

If you don't want to go to jail - don't deal crack. End of story.

Dear Mr. President,

Today is President's Day. As the President of the United States, you have the unique and absolute power to commute the sentence of any federal prisoner. That means you could send me home today, and that is what I am asking you to do.

From everything I have observed, you are a compassionate and just man. I pray that if you learn of the story behind my sentence, you will be moved to exercise your clemency power to give me a second chance.

I am a mother and grandmother serving my 17th year of a 27-year federal prison sentence for a first time, nonviolent crack cocaine offense. I never used or sold drugs, but I was convicted under conspiracy laws for participating in a drug organization by running errands and wiring money. Had I been convicted of a powder cocaine offense, I would be home with my three daughters and two grandchildren by now. I have had a lot of time to think about where I went wrong, and I genuinely take full responsibility for my actions. But I hope you will see that over 16 years in prison is enough time for me to pay my debt to society.

When I was 21 years old, I found myself in a horridly abusive relationship with a man in Portland, Oregon, who intimidated, cursed, slapped, punched and kicked me. I had my first child, Kasaundra, when I was 16 years old, and this man was the father to my second child, Ayesha. Even though my self-esteem at this point in my life was virtually nonexistent, in my heart I knew that this life wasn't what I wanted for myself or -- most importantly -- for my children.

The only option I could see was to go live with my cousin, Ahad, in Omaha, Nebraska. Ahad set me up with a safe place to live, and most importantly, it was hundreds of miles away from my violent ex-boyfriend. Ahad recently wrote a letter in support of my commutation petition. In it, he accurately summed up the situation:

Her boyfriend was a gang member and his main goal in life was to be the best gang member he could be. He beat Hamedah all the time and threatened to kill her. She could not hide from him in Portland - he knew where everybody lived. He drank a lot and used drugs. It was not a good environment for Hamedah to raise her kids in, and it wasn't safe for Hamedah either. So she came to me in Omaha.

The thing is, Ahad was dealing crack cocaine. Although I never used drugs myself, it wasn't long before he asked me to run various errands and to transfer some money. He never held a gun to my head; I knew what I was doing, and I regret my poor decisions during this period of my life more than anything else. At the time, I felt out of options, and I believed that I needed to perform these tasks to show my gratitude for Ahad's help in escaping my abusive relationship.

After less than two years, I decided to move back to my hometown in order to get away from the drug operation. I wanted my girls to grow up with their mother earning an honest living and leading by example. I enrolled in a welfare-to-work program and was getting back on my feet.

But soon after I returned home, I was arrested, indicted and convicted of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine from my time in Omaha with Ahad. I was sentenced to life in prison (later reduced to 27 years), based on the total quantity of drugs involved in the operation. I gave birth to Kamyra, my youngest child, in prison. That was one of the hardest experiences of my life.

During my more than 16 years of incarceration, I have taken long, hard looks at myself. I've done everything in my power to redeem myself and to demonstrate through deeds that upon release, I will be a community asset, not a community liability.

If you commute my sentence, I could have 10 years back on my life. Ten more years to make up for being so far apart from my daughters. Ten more years to realize my dream of starting a nonprofit dedicated to providing community services for the children of incarcerated parents. Ten more years to make a real, positive difference in the world.

I hope you will give me that chance. You have said you believe the crack-powder cocaine sentencing disparity should be eliminated. I know Congress is considering legislation to equalize the federal sentences. You should understand, however, that none of the legislation being considered would apply retroactively to me.

As much as I am cheering -- even from behind prison bars -- for a reform in the federal laws, I don't want to fall through the cracks. I still have a lot of living, mothering and giving to do.

I would not be writing to you today unless I had no other option. I have appealed my case to the highest courts in the land, and you, and you alone, Mr. President, can send me home by exercising your executive clemency power to commute my sentence.

Sincerely,

Hamedah Hasan

There's no room for compassion or shades of gray in authoritarian zero-tolerance land.
If you got a life sentence for double parking you deserve it just because someone in authority said so. Period.

FWIW I think it's a tragedy that someone loses a quarter century of their life over one dumbass victimless mistake.

as crack is a "poor black person" drug were as cocaine is a "rich white person" drug, there is also the fact that this is a women and the charges are conspiracy , which means the actual perp was most likely her boyfriend it is very common for the women in these cases to get far stiffer sentences than the men who are actually the kingpins because the men in these cases can often turn states evidence and get a nice plea bargain where as the women do not have the knowledge of the "business" to be able to do that

a Judge by the name of Pamela Alexander has been working on getting the law changed

http://www.jfklibrary.org/NR/rdonlyres/BD9E94E6-7743-477A-A635-4E886BB0E808/41507/winningessay1.pdf

n.t.

How much crack did she offer to give to Obama in exchange for him commuting her sentence?

"She offered the President some blow? Well, she'd probably have been successful if she'd showed up a few years earlier..."

(which is all to often predicated on race or socio-economic class) has got to stop.

Kicked and rec'd