Sentencing Reform

Nearly 120 PSJ members and concerned Oregonians came together on Saturday, April 5th for our first Statewide Annual Gathering which was a resounding success! The day was devoted to providing the information and tools necessary to defeat the mandatory minimum measure that will be on Oregon’s ballot in November.

Two recent developments may finally signal the end of the vast difference between sentences for crack cocaine and powder cocaine. The inequities in sentences for crack cocaine vs. powder cocaine offenses, and the significant racial disparities in the prison population they generate, are again gaining national attention this summer.

Kathleen Pequeño spoke with Angela Arboleda, Associate Director for Criminal Justice Policy with the National Council of La Raza, about over-representation of Latinos in prison, jail, and immigrant detention thanks to “incarceration fever.” NCLR is the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States, and Angela spoke with us by phone from Washington, DC.

Cassandra Villanueva left Partnership for Safety and Justice in late 2005 to join the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the United States. As the coordinator of NCLR’s Latino Juvenile Justice Network, she works on reducing racial and ethnic disparities in the juvenile justice system. She sat down with Justice Matters’ editor Kathleen Pequeño to talk about disparities and Latino youth.

PSJ consistently works to promote a variety of safe and sensible approaches to sentencing reform.