One of the most egregious injustices in the last 20 years of the drug war has been the draconian penalties suffered by persons convicted in the federal criminal justice system of low-level crack cocaine offenses. Under the infamous mandatory minimums laws, which were passed by Congress without ever holding hearings on them, possession of a mere five grams of crack draws a five-year sentence, and 50 grams a ten-year sentence. The judge has no power under federal law to grant a shorter sentence. H.B. 460, sponsored by US Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY), would raise the thresholds for the crack mandatory minimum sentences to the same quantities used in the powder cocaine laws, 500 and 5,000 grams.