Unequal justice: America's crack laws should be repaired

Julie Stewart Comments Watchdogs of the criminal justice system are asking for President Obama to help return sanity to drug sentencing. (SAUL LOEB/Getty) A federal appeals court recently ruled that the Fair Sentencing Act (FSA), a law passed by Congress in 2010 to reduce the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences, should apply retroactively to individuals who were sentenced to lengthy mandatory prison terms before the FSA was passed. Last month, the Justice Department appealed the court’s decision. Whatever the outcome, the panel’s opinion is unassailable as a matter of public policy. Congress and the Obama administration should support federal legislation to extend the FSA to...