lanuary 19, 2005
Page A4
Opinion articles do not
necessarily reflect or represent the
views o f The Portland Observer
O pinion
Mandatory Sentences
Hurt Minorities
Congress
should respect
judges ’
discretion
J udge G reg
M athis
by
A fte r n e a rly 18
y ea rs, the S u p rem e
C ourt has restored a
ju d g e 's ability to use
discretion in sentenc­
ing. Prior to this rul­
in g , ju d g e s w e re
bound to apply across-the-board
sentencing for certain offenses
regardless o f the circum stances.
Republican law m akers are al­
ready attem pting to override the
court by crafting legislation that
re-institutes m andatory sentenc­
ing. O ne o f the strengths this
country w as founded upon is the
separation o f pow ers. H aving the
branches be equal allow ed this
co u n try 's fram ers ensure that no
particular branch w ould be able
to single-handedly overrule the
other. It seem s, how ever, that
the R epublican m ajority never
learned this sim ple civics lesson.
M andatory sentencing has re­
sulted in unreasonably long sen­
tences for black youths, in par­
ticular. The m andatory sentenc­
ing laws rem oved judicial d iscre­
tion for even first tim e offenders.
In one fam ous exam ple out o f
M ichigan, a fem ale drug courier
received a life sentence w ithout
the possibility o f parole for being
in a car w ith her boyfriend w ho
had over 6 50 gram s o f cocaine
on him . T he boyfriend absolved
the fem ale o f any w rong doing
and adm itted that the d rugs in
questio n w ere his, but u n d er
fed eral se n ten c­
ing la w .th e ju d g e
w a s u n a b le to
c o n s id e r
th e
fem ale’s relative
d eg ree o f guilt.
T his is ju st one
exam ple o f an ex ­
c e ed in g ly h arsh
sentence not fit­
ting the crim e.
B lan k et ru les
are a h indrance to
ju d g es because, generally, there
are no easy one-step solutions
w hen it com es to sen ten cin g
individuals for specific crim es.
T he risk, detractors say, is
that courts w ill start to im pose
drastically different sentencing
decisions for the sam e offense.
T his is a sound concern, h o w ­
ever, this already happens. Even
w ith the “benefit” o f m andatory
sentencing, the arbitrary sen ­
tencing law s often hardest im ­
pact m inority d efen d an ts. By
returning sentencing p o w er to
the courts and aw ay from C o n ­
gress, w e can start to rectify
this and, at least, give d efen ­
dants the ability to appeal a sen­
tence.
T his latest S uprem e C o u rt d e­
cision is a victory fo r com m on
sense, ju stice and the crim inal
court system .
Judge Greg Mathis is chair­
man o f the Rainbow PUSH-
Excel Board and a national
board member o f the Southern
Christian Leadership Confer­
ence.
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News: Bush administration pays "independent" commentator under the table
Honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
by
B ernice P owell J ackson
W hat would Dr. King think of
the world today had he lived? What
wou Id he ha ve to say ? W hat causes
would he be speaking out for or
against? Many ask that question
every year as we approach his Jan.
15 birthday. The truth is we will
never know because no human
being stands still in time, but we all
grow and mature ju st by
living.
By reading Dr. King’s
sermons and writings in
the last five years o f his
life, we know that he pri­
oritized economic justice
issues and working for
peace in a world o f war.
These became his priori­
ties, ju st as racial justice
had been his prime moti­
vator in the early days of
his ministry.
W hat would Dr. King
have to say about the terrible toll of
the tsunami? I think he would have
spoken a word o f consolation to
the people of those nations and an
assurance of the love o f God, espe­
cially for those who had lost not
only family, but all possessions.
But I also think he would have
challenged those o f us who live so
com fortably in Am erica to under­
stand that our sharing with the world
cannot com e only during tim es o f
crisis and catastrophe. I think he
would have used this opportunity
to help Americans understand that
our federal governm ent’s foreign
aid (excluding military spending)
and our private charitable gifts com ­
bined equal only 21 cents per day,
W hat w ould Dr. King say about what Dr. K ing’s position on same
the on-going war in Iraq? I have sex marriage would have been, but
said many tim es that I believe Dr. I do believe that Dr. K ing w ould
King w ould have spoken out force­ have supported the full hum anity
fully against going into that war and the inclu sio n o f all children
and w ould have continued to voice o f G od in o u r so ciety . Ju st as he
his opposition to the war. ju st as he supported B ayard R ustin, the la­
did in the V ietnam War. In his fa­ bor u n io n ist and gay m an w ho
m ous serm on titled, “Silence is was the genius b eh in d the M arch
Betrayal,” at The Riverside Church on W ashington and m any o f the
in New York City, strategies o f the civil rights m ove­
one year before m ent, I b eliev e Dr. K ing w ould
h is a s s a s s in a ­ have reached o ut to the gay co m ­
tio n , D r. K ing m unity.
1 know that he w ould have urged
sp o k e
o ut
against the inher­ each and every A merican to work
ent danger o f try­ for justice and peace in our nation
ing to end con­ and the world. This year, as we
flict with war. the celebrate Dr. K ing’s birthday, let’s
ra c ism o f th a t all find a concrete way to work for
war, the spend­ such a world. W rite a letter to your
ing o f o u r n a­ c o n g re s s p e rs o n s an d se n a to rs
tional budget for about the genocide in Darfur, work
w ar in stead o f in Habitat for Hum anity building
against poverty projects, make sure your church is
and the high price being paid by the using fair trade coffee, tutor a child
soldiers who were mostly Black and in need or teach an adult to read. If
we want a world o f peace with ju s­
H ispanic and poor.
Recently there have been some tice, then we must work for it. I know
African-American clergy who have Dr. King would approve o f that.
Bernice Powell Jackson is ex­
triedtoexpropriateD r. K ingin their
fight against same sex marriage, ecutive minister fo r the United
some even beginning a march at his Church o f Christ Justice and Wit­
graveside. I d o n ’t profess to know ness Ministries.
I think Dr.
King would
say we, the
richest nation
in the world,
can do better.
per person— far less than our Euro­
pean counterparts.
Many Americans falsely believe
that our federal governm ent for­
eign aid is 25 percent o f our nation
budget. Instead, it is less than one
quarter o f one percent. I think Dr.
King would say we, the richest
nation in the world, can do better.
Fix the Real Social Crisis
by T erry M c A uliffe
As usual, President Bush is
stretching the truth on Social Secu­
rity.
Bush and the W ashington Re­
publicans are trying to hide two
facts. First, Social Security, while a
challenge is not acrisis; it is solvent
until at least 2052. Second, W ash­
ington Republicans don’t want to
address the real crisis: the fact that
African-American men die sooner
than the rest o f the population isn’t
a Social Security problem ; it is a
health care problem.
U n d er B u sh , se v en m illio n
A frican A m e ric a n s d o n ’t h av e
any h e a lth in s u ra n c e , w h ic h
m ig h t e x p la in w h y A fr ic a n
A m erican m en h av e a lo w er life
e x p e c ta n c y th an th e g e n e ra l
p o p u la tio n .
W hat is "inherently unfair" is
for the President to ignore a health
care crisis and yet invoke it to try
to m uster support for his Social
Security privatization plan.
Terry McAuliffe is chairman of
the Democratic National Com­
mittee.
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I
t
k
Letter to
the Editor
Right Step
for Reform
U nlike in 2000, w hen every
sen ato r stood silent. Sen. B ar­
bara B oxer o f C a lifo rn ia ’s c o u ra ­
geous act to o b ject to the c o u n t­
ing o f O h io 's e le c to ra l v o tes
brought national atten tio n to a
c r is is in o u r d e m o c ra c y an d
forced a m uch needed tw o hour
d ebate on voting and electio n s in
the U .S. Senate.
T h a n k s a ls o g o e s to R ep.
Stephanie Tubbs Jones and other
congressional leaders who, in the
face o f a patronizing, hostile and
disrespectful Republican majority,
did our country a service by speak­
ing out and dem anding that we
protect each citizen 's right to vote.
R e p u b lic a n le a d e rs h ip h as
stood in the w ay o f m eaningful
electoral reform , especially on the
issue o f an au d itab le p aper trail
for e le c tro n ic v o tin g , d e sp ite
com m on sense and bi-p artisan
effo rts su p p o rtin g it. I t's u n co n ­
scionable. How is it that every
ATM can give a secured receipt,
but not the touch screen m achines
that cap tu re and tally our votes?
It's the integrity o f o u r d em o c­
racy th a t’s at stake.
Joan Levine
Northeast Portland