Showing posts with label mandatory minimums. Show all posts
Showing posts with label mandatory minimums. Show all posts

Jacob Sullum: The Punishment Is The Crime

Thousands serve life sentence for nonviolent offenses.  Nine years ago, Ronald Washington swiped two Michael Jordan jerseys from a Foot Locker in Shreveport, Louisiana. Although the shirts were on sale for $45 each, they were officially priced at $60, putting their combined value above $100. The difference between the discounted price and   ... MORE

3,278 Inmates Serving Life For Nonviolent Offenses

by Jess Remington.       The ACLU released a new report this week examining the growing trend of judges sentencing nonviolent offenders to life in prison without parole. The ACLU found, perhaps unsurprisingly, that the War on Drugs, mandatory minimums, and “tough-on-crime” policies are to blame. The report, A Living Death: A Life Without Parole  ... MORE

Jacob Sullum: The Injustice Of Mandatory Drug Minimums

Rand Paul is right.           Toward the end of a hearing at which the Senate Judiciary Committee heard about the jaw-dropping injustices caused by mandatory minimum sentences, John Cornyn sounded a note of caution. “We have to be careful not to legislate by anecdote,” said the Republican senator from Texas. Why start now? Congress       ... MORE

Sen. Rand Paul: The Madness Of Mandatory Minimums

Lives needlessly ruined by rigid sentencing.         I applaud President Obama’s recognition that mandatory minimum sentencing for nonviolent drug offenders needs to end. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.’s announcement Monday to change federal drug-sentencing policy hopefully signaled a significant shift toward justice in         ... MORE