APRIL 18 - 24, 1984 THE C TIZEN PAGE FIVE
House 0 take up Sentencing Guidelines Bill
LASING, ICIDGAN - The Senten­
cing Guidelines Bill (Hou Bill 4260),
which calls for the establishment of
mandatory ntence for per n con-
icted of rious crime in Michigan,
w p d 'by the House Judiciary
Committee April 12. A vote on the bill
by the full Hou of Repre ntative is
expected follo ing the Easter Holid y,
ccording to the bill's sponsor, Repre­
ntative Jeffrey D. Padden (D-Wyan­
dotte).
The purpose of t e bill i to reduce
disparity in prison ntence received
by person committing riou crime
in ichigan, ccording to Padden.
any udies show that consider-
ASH GTO , D. C. - Ohio Con­
gr an Louis Stok , tod y, introduced
f deral legislation to ddre the shortage
of minority phy ician , dentist, pharma­
cists nd veterinarian in the nation.
Entitled, "The Health Profe ions
inority Tr ining ance ct of
1984", the Stoke Bill amend Title VII
of the Publi He th Service ct by estab­
lishing a health profe ions loan program
for minority and economically disadvant-
ed udents.
"The Health' Profre 'on inority
Training 'stance Act of 1984" pro­
vide concrete me ur to combat the
ort e of minority health prefe ionals
in Americ . That ortage h reached a
gr ve vel.
Official United State 1980 Censu
figure indicate that Blac Americ ns
compo 11.7 p reent of the" nation'
popu tion. Ho ever, only 2,6 percent of
the phy ician , 2.9 percent of the den­
ti s, 2.3 percent of the pharmacist and
1.6 percent of the n tion's eterinarian
are c.
The ti ics gge t an cute pro-
portion te manpower ortage. They al
su e an' d u y in die number of
hools: rving minority ealth profe -
'ODS udents.
Currently, there re 127 medical
hoo in the nation. Four of the schools
- Howard University School of edicine,
eha edical College, orehouse
School of edicine and Charle Dre
edical School - produce almo 25 per­
cent of the minority phy . cians in the na­
tion.
able disparity exists in the sentences
awarded to person convicted to similar
crime. Th stud' es suggest that non­
crime related factors uch as race, employ­
ment and marital status, and the area of
the state in hich the crime is committed
likely influence the sentence Ireceived' ,
ys Padden.
The Sentencing Guidelines bill es­
tablishes a mandatory range for the
punishment of a person convicted of a
riou crime and restricts the judges'
u of such non-<:' e related factor
such race, x, 0 economic status,
according to Padden.
The other essential e ments of Hou
Bill 4260 are: }
-A sentencing comrni 'on composed
o
id
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orl ym
pro
Of the 58 dental schools, the two
predominantly minority insittutions -­
Ho ard University College of Dentistry
and eharry Dental School - produce
over 38 percent of the Black dentists,
Seventy -one pharmacy schools operate in
the United State . Of that number, histor­
ically Black Howard University, Texas
Southern, Xavier and Florida pro-
. duce 45 percent of the Black pharmacist.
The mo t ggering atistic is that of the
27 veterinary medicine sc ools, only
Tu egee Institute has demonstrated a
of non-political experts (part time and
unpaid) would develop the sentencing
guideline for all felonie .
- The guidelines would be based upon
the principle that punishment impo d
on offenders with similar criminal his­
torie and committing similar crimes
be equal.
- The guidelines ould provide a
manadtory ntence range, for example,
8 year 2 months, to 8 years 11 months,.
for all felony sentence. A judge could
impo a ntence outside of the sentence
range for compelling reasons. If a judge
departed, the sentence would be,appealed
by either the prosecutor, if he/she be­
lieved the sentence w too high. The
guidelines will lso determine hen non-
dica
strong commitment to minority stu-
I
dents. That in itution h produced 75
percent of the Blac eterinarians in
America.
Congre man Stokes reflected on the
atistics, "We are also told about the
great surge in health manpower in
America. However, there is an increasing
shortage of Black and other minority
. health care professionals in this country.
That translates into a lack of care for
minority and 10 -income individuals. In
1984, that is a tragedy."
incarcerative sanction ,such as probati n,
are appropriate.
- The guideline would help avoid
the u of the Pri n Overcrowding
Emergency Powers Act by taking into
account our limited pri n and jail
re urces when the guideline are being
developed. Thu, the guidelines will
en ure a more effective u of our limited
prison and jail resource , while leaving
the au hority to decrea or increase
prison and jail capacity to the appropriate
legislative bodies.
- The guidelines would be subject
to legi ative revie and approval before
going into effect. Also, the guidelines,
once dopted, could be modified by the
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The Assocaition of inority Health
Profe 'on Schools, and organization of
ven predominantly Black medical, den­
tal, pharmacy and veterinary medicine
schools, outlined in its udy la t summer
the ignificant shortages in minority
health profe ionals. That study con­
cluded with the warning that the ort­
ages ere likely to become more acute in
the 19805 unle action was taken by the
President or the Congre .
C�nti.!!u�_ on pa e 13
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926-2961
•
r BE ORE OON
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