"The slow fade of Len Bias' ghost"

The title of this post is the headline of this commentary in today's Dallas Morning News by Mark Osler. In addition to providing a useful reminder of the way the 100-1 crack/powder ratio came to be, it also ends with a fitting summary of where we are now. Here is how the piece starts and ends:

Twenty-four years ago, a talented young player from the University of Maryland was drafted No. 2 overall by the Boston Celtics. Two days later, he was dead of a drug overdose.

This simple tragedy led to one of the most frivolous detours in American history – the onerous federal sentencing statute for crack, which was finally amended by Congress on Wednesday. The story of Len Bias is a wonderful example of the potential dangers of legislation based on anecdote rather than study and analysis....

It is pathetic that it took 24 years to fix this problem. It is also disheartening that this legislation applies only to future cases and does not change the sentences of those already in prison. Still, it is change for the better. It is rare to reverse the ratchet on criminal sentences, and, in amending the rules on crack, Congress has finally begun to undo the hasty and untoward effects of Len Bias' ghost haunting the halls of government.

Some recent related posts:

• A few not-so-accurate headlines about Congress's work on crack sentences
• Questions and more questions as a reformed crack bill heads to the President's desk
• House of Representatives seems poised to finally pass federal crack/powder disparity reform bill
• Unanimous(!!) vote by Senate Judiciary Committee to reduce (but not eliminate) crack/powder disparity
• Varied reactions to the crack/powder reform work of the Senate Judiciary Committee
• Full Senate passes bill to reduce (but not eliminate) crack/powder disparity
• Different editorial perspectives on crack reform compromise
• Questions about the "when" and "now what" for crack/powder sentencing reform