Mandatory Minimums The United States Sentencing Commission

The average cost of keeping a single prisoner incarcerated in federal prison for a year is approximately $30,619.85 (Prisons Bureau, and Department of Justice). Multiply that number by the approximate 2,217,000 prisoners currently incarcerated and the cost of long sentences required by mandatory minimums starts to add up (Federal Bureau of Prisons). In addition to the economical problems mandatory minimums contribute to, some adversaries suggest that mandatory minimums may not even be effective, particularly in regards to reducing drug related crimes. In many organized drug operations when one drug supplier is caught and incarcerated another swiftly takes his place (Caulkins). Furthermore, social scientists and public policy analysts researching the effectiveness of mandatory minimums have found there to be little conclusive evidence that mandatory minimums do in fact reduce crime (The United States Sentencing Commission). Another concern mandatory minimums pose is the lack of individualized sentencing. As previously mentioned when discussing the positive aspects of mandatory minimums, some view consistency of sentencing as a favorable product of mandatory minimums, nevertheless, there are some significant problems associated with standardizing sentences. Many people support the idea that offenders of the same crime should receive the same sentence, however, this idea disregards the individuality and complexity of each criminal case; while the same crime may have beenShow MoreRelatedMandatory Minimums Should Not Be Mandatory911 Words   |  4 PagesThose who oppose mandatory minimums argue that longer sentences cost too much, are ineffective in reducing drug related crimes, and do not allow for lenience in extenuating circumstances. The average cost of keeping a single prisoner incarcerated in federal prison for a year is approximately $30,619.85 (Prisons Bureau, and Department of Justice), multiply that number by the typical five years in prison mandatory minimum policy demands for minor drug crimes as well as multiplying it by the approximateRead MoreMandatory Minimum Sentences Imposed By Statute865 Words   |  4 Pagesvarious states across the nation, where there are far too many occurrences where individuals have been convicted of crimes and subjected to unfair mandatory sentencing. â€Å"Mandatory minimum sentencing laws require binding prison terms of a particular length for people convicted of certain federal and state crimes† (Famm, n.d.). â€Å"Mandatory minimum sentences imposed by statute are intended to achieve consistency in sentencing at the expense of individual consideration of the contextual sentencing factors†Read MoreCriminal Sentencing Essay1114 Words   |  5 Pagesdecades, but has been regulated by legislature since 1984. Discretion by definition is the authorization of deciding as one thinks fit, absolutely or within limits (Ntanda, 1999). Indeterminate sentencing, traditionally, has afforded judges considerable discretion over the resolve of criminal sentencing. â€Å"While such discretion theoretically allows judges to tailor sentences to the circumstances of individual crimes and criminals, thereby achieving a sort of ex post fairness, it also permits variationRead MoreThe Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws1347 Words   |  6 PagesThe establishment of mandatory minimum sentencing laws has been a policy blunder since their proliferation in the 1980s. Mandatory minimum laws are negatively affecting the U.S, economically and socially. These laws effectively strip judges of their ability to adjudicate a fair punishment by setting a minimum sentence and handing their discretion over to prosecutors. A number of individuals and their families have b een negatively affected by mandatory minimum penalties, however, there are othersRead MoreSentencing Of The Criminal Justice System Essay1514 Words   |  7 PagesSentencing criminals in court is not the easiest thing to for anyone involved, it’s usually a lengthy process that must go through examining evidence, interviewing witnesses and of course listening to the defense. When an offender has been found guilty, a judge must decide what their retribution will be, usually referring to set guidelines. These guidelines help judges decide what punishment would be best based on the offense, criminal history, whether a weapon was used, and many other facts. TheseRead MoreThe Mandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws1528 Words   |  7 Pagescould vary. To have unvaried penalties, mandatory minimum sentencing laws were enacted. These laws help keep citizens protected, while criminals are incarcerated. John Oliver, the host of Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, talks about how mandatory minimum sentencing increases the number of criminals incarcerated, and he believes the length of their prison time is longer than it should be. He shows videos of criminals who were convicted under the mandatory minimum law with drug crimes. These videos explainRead MoreThe Role of Sentencing in the Justice System630 Words   |  3 PagesSentencing plays a extensive role in the criminal justice system. â€Å" The sentencing of convicted offenders in the United States had been based principally on a rehabilitative model† (Miller, 1981).It is the discipline predetermined for an offender. When thinking of the many sentencing components used, to predispose the price an offender has to pay for the crime committed. There are many pros and cons for the many different types of sentencing we use in the criminal justice systemRead MoreMandatory Minimum Sentences For Nonviolent Drug Crimes Essay1644 Words   |  7 PagesMandatory Minimum Sentences For the vast majority of crimes committed in the United States, the fate of those who have been found guilty is left in the hands of a judge, after a trial by jury. However, since the 1950’s the fate of nonviolent drug offenders has been shifted to the hands of the partisan prosecution with the expansion of mandatory sentencing. Mandatory minimum sentencing is a system which sets minimum jail sentences for crimes, which not even judges can overturn. In the decades afterRead MoreMandatory Minimum Sentencing Laws Should Be Legal1150 Words   |  5 Pagesfill up our prison system. The United States has only five percent of the world s population, but it has houses 25 percent of its prisoners, which is around 2.2 million people (Collier, 2014). One of the main reasons the United States has become the prison capital of the world is due to the hard stance on all drugs. This stance led to the use of mandatory minimum sentencing laws to keep drug offenders locked up for longer than t hey should be. Mandatory minimum sentencing laws are laws that requireRead MoreThe Sentencing Policy And The Criminal Justice System1065 Words   |  5 Pagesdetail in offering information based on the given topics. The current criminal justice policy that I’ve chosen was the sentencing policy. The sentencing policy was put together to reach every type of case that could possibly be seen in the criminal justice system. Here we will further discuss the sentencing policy, a case that I found to be a great example to understand the sentencing policy and how it can be overused, then we will move into how this policy have been informed by the rational choice