One example of the impact of new sentencing policies is the case of Sandra Lavonne Rucker, a Black woman who is found guilty of conspiracy to sell drugs because her boyfriend was convicted of selling, despite not knowing about his involvement with the drug trade.

"At the time of her arrest, Rucker was in a relationship with a man who ran a drug operation and allegedly brought a weapon into her apartment. Although the testimony of a codefendant established that Sandra was not a principal organizer of the drug operation, and Sandra herself provided credible testimony that she had never sold drugs and was nothing more than the man’s girlfriend, she was nevertheless convicted of involvement in the drug conspiracy. Under provisions requiring that each member of a conspiracy be held liable for the entire amount of drugs involved in an operation – in this case 50 grams or more of cocaine – Sandra received a sentence of life imprisonment" (Break the Chains, 2007).