Instantly relief washed over me while hearing the verdict in Derek Chauvin’s trial for the murder of George Floyd. While yesterday’s outcome offers a welcomed measure of accountability for Chauvin and some recognition of the Floyd family’s traumatic loss, it cannot undo the continuing trauma experienced daily by our Black and Brown family and friends. Nearly a year later, George Floyd’s murder – shaped by the racist structures and processes that infiltrate the criminal legal system – has awakened a critical nationwide reckoning on racial justice that The Sentencing Project is committed to advancing in partnership with you and our many allies. The work to advance racial justice is happening now and we need your help. Democratic leadership in the House of Representatives plans to hold a floor vote TODAY to extend a Trump-era drug policy that exposes more people to mandatory minimum sentences for selling mere detectable amounts of fentanyl analogues (substances similar to the powerful synthetic opioid, fentanyl). |
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Despite campaign promises from President Biden to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences entirely and uproot racial injustices in the criminal legal system, and no evidence to support the need for or efficacy of this punitive policy, the legislative action comes at the urging of the Biden Administration. The Senate is expected to consider similar legislation this week. As it has always been true of the War on Drugs, Black and Brown people represent the overwhelming majority of people federally prosecuted for fentanyl analogue offenses, and most play minor roles in the drug trade. President Biden and Congress must not prioritize harmful law enforcement strategies that perpetuate excessive incarceration and dismantle communities. The Chauvin verdict underscores how ensuring racial justice in our criminal legal system is paramount, this policy does the opposite. |
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