US law chief considers crack offender release bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Justice Department is considering whether legislation is needed to block or modify the U.S. Sentencing Commission's decision to reduce prison sentences for crack cocaine dealers, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Friday.

"We need to see what the prospect is for getting legislation and on what terms. That is being explored," he told reporters at a Justice Department news briefing.

The federal commission drafts sentencing guidelines that judges must consider. Under its guidelines, penalties for dealing or possession of crack cocaine were tougher than similar offenses involving the powder form of the drug. Last year the commission reduced the disparities between crack and powder cocaine, and last month made that change retroactive.

Legislation introduced in Congress would halt the early release of people imprisoned for crack-related offenses, but Mukasey said its chances of passage are uncertain.

At a meeting with U.S. mayors Thursday, Mukasey criticized the potential sentence reductions for as many as 20,000 federal crack offenders, saying it could unleash potentially violent criminals.

But supporters of the commission's decision fired back at Mukasey for using scare tactics and said procedural safeguards exist to protect public safety.

"Rather than whipping up fear about the impending release of 'violent gang members,' the attorney general should be reassuring the mayors that U.S. attorneys are rolling up their sleeves and doing their jobs" in reviewing each case, said Mary Price of the group Families Against Mandatory Minimums.

If a U.S. attorney believes a prisoner will pose a risk to the community, the prosecutor can make the argument to a federal judge that the inmate does not deserve a reduced sentence and early release, Price said.

Critics say the sentence disparities passed in response to a violent crack epidemic have unfairly punished blacks, who account for most federal crack convictions, while whites are more likely to be arrested on powder cocaine charges. The sentencing commission called the disparities "unwarranted."

The Bush administration has opposed the reduced sentences.

Mukasey said many counseling programs and halfway houses, residential centers for drug users, will not be ready to handle an influx of prisoners, who could be released as early as March 3.

An estimated 2,500 federal crack offenders will be eligible for early release this year. (Reporting by James Vicini and Randall Mikkelsen)