The Sentencing Project recently posted a report issued by the U.S. Sentencing Commission on the impact of mandatory minimums. While many in the prison reform movement, notably Families Against Mandatory Minimums, have been working for years to eliminate mandatory minimum sentences, the U.S. Sentencing Committee has finally issued a report that back ups the claim that mandatory minimum sentences are racially disparate, and do more harm than good in most cases. There is hope among reform minded organizations that this report, the first examination of the mandatory minimum laws since they were implemented in 1991, will bring about changes that can help America to lose the title of “Incarceration Nation.”
The following information was released on November 15, 2011 by Sentencing Project.
United States Sentencing Commission assesses impact of mandatory minimums
A new 645-page report by the United States Sentencing Commission examines the impact of mandatory minimum penalties on federal sentencing, the first such assessment since the Commission’s examination of this issue in 1991. The Commission concludes that “certain mandatory minimums apply too broadly, are excessively severe, and are applied inconsistently.”
The Commission’s analysis also includes an assessment of the racial dynamics of mandatory sentencing. African-American offenders were subject to mandatory minimum penalties at a higher rate (65.1%) than were white (53.5%) and Hispanic (44.3%) offenders. Furthermore, African-American offenders received relief from mandatory minimums at a lower rate (34.9%) than did white (46.5%) and Hispanic (55.7%) offenders.
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