What we want
An end to the use of mandatory minimum sentencing at the state level for any crime.
Reasons for Reform
Mandatory minimum sentences take discretion away from judges in favor of harsher punishments. They drive up incarceration rates and the duration of time that people remain in the system. The longer someone is in the system, the more likely they are to return to it after release.
The question is not one of whether certain crimes should be punished. That is already accomplished by our justice system.
Georgia’s “Seven deadly sins” law was passed in 1995. It mandates, for a first offense, a nonparolable sentence of at least ten years for kidnapping, armed robbery, rape, aggravated sodomy, aggravated sexual battery, and aggravated child molestation. Minimum sentence for first offense of murder is life, with no parole eligibility for 25 years. Second offense of any of the “seven deadly sins” gets life without possibility of parole.