Eliminating a Quantifiably Unjust Application of the Law Act or the EQUAL Act
This bill eliminates the federal sentencing disparity between drug offenses involving crack cocaine and powder cocaine.
Currently, different threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine (e.g., 28 grams of crack cocaine and 500 grams of powder cocaine) trigger the same statutory criminal penalties.
This bill eliminates the lower quantity thresholds for crack cocaine offenses. Under the bill, the same threshold quantities of crack cocaine and powder cocaine trigger the same statutory criminal penalties.
The change applies to future cases and cases pending on the date of enactment. With respect to past cases, the bill authorizes resentencing of a defendant who was convicted or sentenced for a crack cocaine offense before the date of enactment.