Who Deserves Leniency? Race, Perception, and Drug Sentencing

For decades, the Federal Drug Sentencing Guidelines have imposed punishment based on drug weight rather than individual culpability, producing unfair outcomes. In January 2025, the U.S. Sentencing Commission sought to address that problem by proposing several amendments, including two alternatives that would have created a drug-specific reduction for low-level trafficking roles. Just a few months later, in April, the Commission rejected those options and instead adopted a narrower amendment that modified the existing mitigating role guideline. Both the proposals and the amendment were framed as steps toward fairness, but neither meaningfully shifts the structure of federal drug sentencing. Rather, they leave intact the broader punitive framework and the racial disparities that framework produces. Black and Brown people continue to bear the brunt of drug prosecutions and harsh sentences, and the April amendment—still dependent on a judge’s perception of who “deserves” leniency—is unlikely to change that. Even if applied consistently, it still treats incarceration as the default, offering little relief to people with minimal involvement in drug offenses. This essay argues that neither the original proposals nor the amendment are transformative. Real change requires moving away from incarceration for drug crimes altogether and embracing abolitionist-aligned reforms that reflect a deeper reckoning with culpability, fairness, and systemic harm.