NEW : Almost 20,000 inmates could be eligible for shorter sentences under the proposed changes . Justice Samuel Alito , Clarence Thomas dissent . NEW : Justice Ginsburg writes , ` ` law says nothing about appropriate sentences '' Supreme Court : Judges may impose shorter prison terms for crack cocaine . Ruling aims to shrink disparity between powder cocaine and prison sentences .
NEW : Justice Samuel Alito , Clarence Thomas dissent . NEW : Justice Ginsburg writes , ` ` law says nothing about appropriate sentences '' Supreme Court : Judges may impose shorter prison terms for crack cocaine . Ruling aims to shrink disparity between powder cocaine and prison sentences .