Democracy Now! September 10, 1997

Congo Human Rights; Mandatory Minimums; In the Time of the Butterflies
|(14 Minutes) Congo Human Rights Congolese President Laurent Kabila sent a letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan confirming his commitment to the UN human rights mission to the Democratic Republic of Congo. GUEST: Reed Brody, human rights lawyer and one of three leaders of the UN mission. (19 Minutes) Mandatory Minimums Discussion on legislation being rallied in Washington DC that would eliminate the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentencing. GUEST: Gus Smith, father of 24 year old Kemba Smith who was sentenced to 24 years in prison for a peripheral role in a drug conspiracy. GUEST: Monaco Pratt, national project director of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. GUEST: Anthony Graham, teacher at the Colonel White High School, who is leading a group of students to Congress today to protest mandatory sentencing guidelines. (17 Minutes) In the Time of the Butterflies Continuing conversation with author Julia Alvarez on her family which fled the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic. GUEST: Julia Alvarez, author of BOOK: IN THE TIME OF THE BUTTERFLIES.