Criminal
May 15, 2002
Mandatory-Sentencing Laws Breed Injustice, Not Change
Forum Column - By Earl Ofari Hutchinson - When Congress enacted the first mandatory-sentencing laws in 1986, the aim was to rid the streets of violent drug kingpins. The two basic criteria used to determine who was a criminal menace were whether a firearm was used and what the quantity of the drugs was. The law, which stripped judges of their discretionary legal authority to impose sentences in some cases, sent the message that dangerous criminals did not deserve any mercy.
Forum Column
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
When Congress enacted the first mandatory-sentencing laws in 1986, the aim was to rid the streets of violent drug kingpins. The two basic criteria used to determine who was a criminal menace were whether a fir...
By Earl Ofari Hutchinson
When Congress enacted the first mandatory-sentencing laws in 1986, the aim was to rid the streets of violent drug kingpins. The two basic criteria used to determine who was a criminal menace were whether a fir...
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