WATERLOO - In the eyes of his family and friends, a few dozen of whom show up even for routine bond hearings, Shawn Hoosman is a classic example of the racial divide.

He was convicted earlier this year of possession and intent to deliver cocaine and marijuana and will be sentenced in Black Hawk County soon.

But because of at least one prior conviction - in 1996, he was convicted of displaying a firearm in Waterloo and spent time in prison - Hoosman could face up to 150 years in prison for the latest crime, or three times a maximum penalty of 50 years, if his felony convictions are found to be valid at an enhancements trial Tuesday.

Supporters question the methods of police, and cry foul over what they say is a lack of evidence to convict him.

But they're especially troubled at the amount of time Hoosman could face behind bars because of enhancement laws.

"I just hope the crime fits the punishment," said his mother, Marjorie Hoosman, after a bond hearing Monday.

His father, Emmit Hoosman Sr., is also hopeful, but blunt.

"There are two laws: one law for white and one for black," Hoosman, Sr., said. "A white guy can do the same thing and get less time."

It's become a familiar refrain from the African-American community in Waterloo, who complain blacks are incarcerated more and given extreme sentences for nonviolent drug offenses.

Some have become sentencing advocates, attending commission hearings and talking with legislators and communities about racial disparities. David Goodson is hosting an open community dialogue on the issue Friday at 3 p.m. at Talk Shop Cafe in Waterloo.

"The enhancement laws in Black Hawk County have gotten out of control," the flyer reads. "It's time to stand up and let the system know enough is enough."

There are statistics to back up their complaints. According to a 2007 study by The Sentencing Project, blacks in Iowa are incarcerated at a rate of 13.6 to 1 as compared to whites - the second-worst rate in the country behind the District of Columbia. The national average is 5.6 to 1.

Further, according to the 2007 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the rate of illegal drug use among African Americans is 9.5 percent, compared to 8.2 percent of whites. Yet The Sentencing Project reports blacks comprise 35 percent of those arrested for drug offenses and 53 percent of drug convictions in 2006.

Reporting the prison population forecast for 2007-2017, the Iowa Department of Human Rights said cocaine-related admissions to prison were at an all-time high, calling it "an ominous trend for a state with a high rate of African-American incarceration."

David Meeks, who is not affiliated with the family but has worked with them in their quest for a reduced sentence for Shawn, said no one is saying drug offenders aren't violating the law. But he and others question whether the amount of years behind bars due to enhancement laws is appropriate.

"I think we all agree crime should be punished, and there should be punitive measures to deter crime," Meeks, the executive director of the Waterloo Human Rights Commission, said. "But when you have African-American males receiving sentences that basically take away their lives, he has no quality of life left. Where is the opportunity for him to rehabilitate himself? Where is the opportunity for him to get back into society?"

Getting out

Hoosman spent a few years in prison for his first offense, completing the terms of his parole in 2001. He went to work in various places, as well as for his brother, Emmit Hoosman, Jr., in Chicago, but said he always wanted to come back to Waterloo and open up his own enterprise.

Emmit Hoosman Jr., who left Waterloo for Chicago several years ago because of the way he says he was treated, said he didn't understand why Shawn would return. But he supported him.

"(Shawn) talked about starting a popcorn business," Hoosman Jr. said. "He started it. I helped him get things off the ground floor and it's been going well for him. Here's an individual who had some ups and downs with the law in the past, and he's starting a great life for himself in his hometown."

But Hoosman's Popcorn, featuring various flavor mixtures and available at community festivals and by special order, is now run by Hoosman's family while he awaits his sentence.

"There was a lot of evidence provided but nothing concrete, no fingerprints or anything specifically toward Shawn," Emmit Hoosman Jr. said. "There's a lot of years that he's facing."

Shawn Hoosman's attorney, Andrea Dryer, would not comment on whether Hoosman was facing a disparate sentence.

The Black Hawk County Attorney's Office, which is prosecuting Hoosman's case, would not say what sentence they were seeking for Hoosman because the matter is still at trial.

Disparity

Under Iowa law, all illegal drugs fall under the same label: Schedule 1 controlled substances. But not all receive the same penalties.

For instance, a person caught with 5,000 grams of methamphetamine, a drug popular among rural whites, is equal under the law as a person caught with only 500 grams of cocaine or a cocaine substance, like crack cocaine - a common drug among urban African Americans.

"It's the crack-versus-powder disparity - a 100 to 1 ratio," said Goodson. "Those disparities have been in existence since the laws have come into play."

Asked whether that disparity unfairly targets the black community, Goodson replied, "Absolutely, without a doubt."

"This is an issue that should also be important to white America," he added. "White America should be wanting justice for their black brethren."

Leading the charge to get Iowa's first place in racial disparity turned around, Gov. Chet Culver signed into law this spring a bill requiring state officials to re-examine racial impacts of criminal justice policies.

It might come too late, however, for Shawn Hoosman.

"He's a great kid," Emmit Hoosman, Jr., said. "He's always looked up to his parents, always looked up to me. I wish Waterloo would really support him to get his sentence reduced, so he can pick up whatever life he has left."

Contact Amie Steffen at (319) 291-1464 or amie.steffen@wcfcourier.com.