If all goes as planned, the 48-year-old could walk out of a Kentucky prison two years early, as one of thousands of federal inmates to benefit when a change goes into effect Tuesday changing sentences for crack cocaine to be closer to the penalties for powder cocaine.
Flood’s sister, Susan Cardwell, said she cried after getting a phone call from his defense attorney Monday saying his release has been approved by a Virginia judge.
“He wants to get out, get a job and get his life back together,” she said in a telephone interview. “He says he’ll work two jobs if he has to.”
The disparity in sentences for crack versus powder had long been criticized as racially discriminatory because it disproportionately affected black defendants. The Fair Sentencing Act passed by Congress in 2010 and signed by President Obama reduced the disparity for future cases.
via Change in crack sentencing means early releases – USATODAY.com.
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