Mandatory Minimum Sentencing For The United States Essay

The inhumane conditions seen in state prisons today eerily mimic many of the same issues seen in state psychiatric institutions prior to the 1970s. These institutions sought to solve the problem off overcrowding by deeming many of them stable enough to leave, even though many of them were not. The patients were placed into group homes instead of hospitals. This caused an influx of people with mental health problems into a society where they could not function. Many of them inevitably ended up committing crimes, pushing them into the

Here in America, our criminal system is very militaristic, we are punishers. But maybe it’s time for that to change. Before the 1970’s, American prisons held the mental and psychological need of criminals in a very high regard. There were mental health professionals working in every prison, and criminals were given important training and treatment needed for a smooth and successful transition back into society.

There are many people who are critical of the US‘s prison sysetm; the idea of locking up those who commit crimes against a society simply to keep them from doing harm. Many say that more rehabilatation is necessary to improve these individuals and, therefore, society as a whole. What are some ways of doing this? Do you agree/disagree with this view and why? Is the prison system currently in place the best option for society? 2 pages, double spaced, 12pt. font.

Three salient points from the films/lectures were assessments of change from the five stages of change model (Norcross, j. c., n.d.), the Fair Sentencing Act for mandatory minimum sentences (American Civil Liberties Union, 2010), and eliminating government involvement in regulation of drugs and alcohol substance, while allowing the various states to manage control (ABC News.com, 2007).

What does constitute as fairness in the criminal justice system? Is it having a man put behind bars for more than 20 years for transporting a small amount of drugs, while a man can murder someone in the second degree and be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years? Is it right to take a parent away from their children for upwards of 20 years? The United States government thinks this is fair and allows for less discrimination in the justice system, this law is called the Mandatory Minimum Sentencing law which has been around since the late 18th century. The Mandatory Minimum is for several types of crimes ranging from drug possession, possession of illegal firearms, and sex crimes against children. But this law was initially designed to have a

Current mandatory minimum sentencing laws are in dire need of reform. A mandatory minimum sentence is a court decision where judicial discretion is limited by law. As a result, there are irrevocable prison terms of a specific length for people convicted of particular federal and state crimes. As of January 2014, more than 50 percent of inmates in federal prisons are serving time for drug offenses, and more than 60 percent of people incarcerated are racial and ethnic minorities. The use of safety valves and implementation of the Fair Sentencing Act are a few methods Congress employed to combat racial disparity in prisons. Mandatory minimum sentencing harshly punishes non-violent offenders, disproportionately affects minorities, and skews the balance of power between judges and prosecutors.

Unnecessary rules and regulations is what have become of the required minimum sentencing laws. Laws that are put intact so that Congress might have control over what happens with a convict in the judiciary court system. It is essential that these laws are dealt away with; they are creating greater harms than benefits for the public. They are costing the American people from their money, abstinence from their families, and to some extent even rights as U.S. citizens. The United States Congress should repeal mandatory minimum sentencing laws.

mandatory minimum sentencing. The Committee decided the guidelines would be set the levels in the Drug Quantity Table (Hinojosa 1998). This would be done to create a set standard for levels 26 and 32. see table 1 {Table 1 About Here} These levels would work along with a standard set of program ranges that are above the statutory mandatory minimum sentencing laws (Weld 1986).

When we talk about mandatory-minimum sentences, we first have to look at the time frame when this law came into effect. The country was in a period where violate crime was on an increase due to the drug trade. The demand for drugs in society was at an all time high rate.

Eventually, the government is going to realize that they are wasting money and putting people’s lives in danger. Overcrowded prisons are a threat to everyone involved. To alleviate the situation, correctional institutions need to downsize inmate populations. I believe one of the main reasons prisons are overcrowded is due to mandatory minimum sentencing. The U.S has very strict sentencing guidelines when it comes to sentencing. According to Hooker and Hirsh, “A felony conviction generally, by law, means a term of mandatory incarceration. An accused faces mandatory sentencing if he/she has any past felony conviction, or if he/she is accused of being a repetitive offender. As to the former, any past conviction counts, no matter how old” (Berlatsky 94-95). Hooker and Hirsh follow this claim up with the perfect example, “As to the latter, one would become a repetitive offender if he were to sell a marijuana cigarette on one day, and repeat that act the next day. All these trigger mandatory sentences at conviction” (Berlatsky 95). This become somewhat of a never ending circle for such a small petty crime. Which brings me to nonviolent drug users.

Policymakers developed the mandatory minimum sentencing statutes during an era when society was fed up with violent crime being at an all time high and the devastating emergence of crack cocaine. These policies represented the then dominant belief that longer, more severe sentences would “maximize the deterrent, retributive, and incapacitative goals of incarceration” (Subramanian, Ram and Delaney R, 2014). Members of Congress believed that stiff penalties would discourage people from committing illegal drug activity. Many of these penalties are mandatory – that is, judges may not impose a penalty less than the number of years chosen by Congress.

Each year in America many people received prison sentences for crimes that pose little if any danger or harm to our society. Mandatory Minimum Sentencing in the American Justice System has long been argued by both Lawmakers and the public. We will go over some of the history of mandatory minimum sentences as well as the many pros and cons to these types of sentences. Some examples of pros and cons are the overall effect on public safety, the effect on the offenders, the cost to taxpayers, the lack of discretion for Judge’s, and whether the law should be repealed.

The prison system has been around for decades to rehabilitate and to reduce the rate of crime. But this system has flaws, flaws that need to be fixed. These flaws can ruin an innocent persons life or not treat criminals as human beings. From solitary confinement to private prisons profiting off of prisoners and lengthening the sentences. Changes need to be made to the prison system, especially private prisons.

If Johnny Cash described the sad daily life of inmates in his classic « Folsom Prison Blues », today it’s all the prison system which is feeling pretty blue. Justice is defined as the administration of law. But within that definition is the implicit understanding that the law must be applied even handedly. The rule of law is meant to apply to all, but currently in America that crucial principle can be questioned. It is blatantly obvious that the justice system could be better. It takes minimal effort to peer under the veneer of blind justice. Some argues that prison system is a necessary solution to make our society safer, I would say that justice system has many failures, its effects are so much negative to not be questioned. The assumption about prisons benefit is based on two principles : The first principle is that the fear of incarceration deters crime. The second is that for criminals who are imprisoned, time spent in prison is supposed to serve a rehabilitation goal which will allows detainees to better fit with the society in the future. But the modern prison system has failed to fulfill either of these objectives. Indeed, two thirds of prisoners commit an offense again within their years of being released and often with more important crimes. The supposed balance between punishment and rehabilitation is out of date and the cause of this can be explained by several

Mandatory minimum sentencing is defined as a minimum amount of mandatory prison time a convicted felon must serve with good time spent in a correction facility (Schalleger, Smykla, 2015). Once a felon has served his or her minimum time sentenced by the court, the individual can then be deemed eligible for parole (Schalleger, Smykla, 2015). Determinate and indeterminate structures are both utilized within the terms of mandatory minimum sentencing. Formed to meet the punishment of the criminal; rather than the punishment of the crime, and due to overcrowded facilities in the 19th centuries with large increase in prison uniformity, indeterminate sentencing was developed (Schalleger, Smykla, 2015). Discretion of the minimum to max time one must serve is determined by the judge and the statutory