From The Sentencing Project:
On February 15 The Sentencing Project released a new fact sheet, “How Mandatory Minimums Perpetuate Mass Incarceration and What to Do About It.” The report highlights widespread evidence that mandatory minimum sentences produce substantial harm with no overall benefit to crime control, as well as notable reforms in recent years to scale back these unjust sentences.
Mandatory minimums are legal provisions in each state and the federal government that require a specific minimum prison term for certain crimes, regardless of individual circumstances. Determined by lawmakers rather than judges, these sentences represent a uniquely American approach to sentencing that has accelerated prison growth.
Mandatory minimum sentences are problematic because they:
Constrain judicial discretion;
Deepen racial disparities in the criminal legal system; and
Worsen prison conditions, causing harm to both incarcerated people and correctional staff.
Read the full fact sheet here
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