Corrections: Mandatory Minimum Sentencing
A plethora of research has indicated that the time spent in jails is not favorable for prisoners since the recidivism rate would not be guaranteed to fall after their jail term is over. The mandatory minimum is the definite imprisonment time an offender spends in jail when a certain crime is proven against him. This stay is under great criticism by debaters, and they require reforms in mandatory minimum sentencing laws.
Several reasons contribute to the requests to repeal mandatory minimum sentencing laws. The first one is unfairness and inhumane prison treatment under the mandatory minimum sentence (Siegler, 2021). Racial segregation is one of the prominent causes that reform in this sentence mechanism is demanded recently as people of color are treated dehumanizingly. At the same time, protection is provided, even within the jail walls, to the Whites only (Siegler, 2021). Americas imprisonment system is now called the human caging system, where prosecutors name certain Articles of the Constitution during their court cases to prove only the people of color as guilty (Siegler, 2021). Taking the example of drug policies established in the US since the old days, it was addressed by the government as a public health approach. At the same time, discretion at the hands of judges was less seen in comparison with the racial disparities that had already been made when the first criminal offense was put on the shoulders of a Black person first handcuffed. For example, the unfairness of mandatory minimums could also be elucidated with the case of 28-year-old Mark Paul Weller. In 23015, the case was presented against Mark, who was found distributing meth (a drug) in his neighborhood (Cause of Action Institute, 2017)....
His prior unexpected life events were not considered who forced him to engage in such criminal activity. Rather his previous brief criminal history accounting for
drugs and
alcohol, taking gas money, driving a used car, and trading his sister for meth, etc., were on the record only (Cause of Action Institute, 2017). He was sentenced to 10 years with a heavy...
…As America herself is a great anti-terrorism community, its
morality for punitive actions within its criminal
justice system, where disparity, unfairness, and
racial discrimination are evident, would be questioned (Lamb, 2015). For this, smarter sentencing and in-prison
rehabilitation would be more suitable options than the mandatory minimum. Smarter Sentencing Act in 2013 was an example that the government is taking the initiative to make amendments, especially stating that drug crimes should be penalized for a longer period if the offender has a serious criminal history (Lamb, 2015). The fines were reduced to fifty percent compared to the previous mandatory minimum policies. With the change of times and changes in crimes, too, alterations in sentencing guidelines have become inevitable. The inflexibility that mandatory minimum demonstrates gives rise to
disrespect of humanity for badly destabilizing the community with the return of the prisoners after they complete their incarceration (Lamb, 2015). For deterring public crime and enhancing public safety, mandatory minimum sentences have not offered the desired results, particularly in modern and changing times; hence, reforms…
