New magazine launches with piece on crack sentencing

I received word today of the launch of a new publication, Human Nature magazine, which can be accessed at this link.  Included in a number of intriguing looking articles in the first issue is this piece about mandatory minimum crack sentencing, which is authored by publisher/executive editor Christopher Windham.  The story is entitled “Doing The Right Thing: After 20 Years, the Debate Over Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws for Cocaine Heats Up,” and here is one of many notable passages:

The federal mandatory minimum sentencing laws have also had a profound affect on African-American women.  For example, the incarceration rate for African-American women for all crimes has increased by 800% since 1986 compared to 400% for women of all ethnicities, largely due to drug convictions. Since federal judges have little or no flexibility to consider the reasons why women are involved in the drug trade, such as domestic violence or financial dependency, they often receive the same or harsher sentences as major drug traffickers, policy experts say.