Suppose you are asked to a favor for someone you know, and in return you would be fairly compensated. This favor includes the delivery of a heavy luggage bag to a location where someone will take it from you. Pretty easy favor to get paid for, right? Well this favor could have you facing a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in the federal prison system. Contained in the bag was 10 kilos of powdered cocaine. You didn’t ask questions because you thought you knew this person and you could use some extra cash. Although this is your first time ever being in trouble with the law, you are facing some serious jail time. Unfortunately, this is the case for many first-time non-violent offenders as a result of mandatory minimum laws. What are mandatory …show more content…
These law makers must properly asses this bill and the affects it will have on prisons systems, individual offenders, and the crime rate. All offenders should not be generalized and sentenced according one law because every circumstance is different. We must restore our faith in the appointed criminal judges that they will do everything within their power to administer the law appropriately and fair based on evidence and intent. Overturning mandatory minimum laws starts with knowing a few specific details. These details include: what mandatory minimums are and what brought about their start, knowing what classification of offenders are affected by the laws and if it is warranted for the offense, the number of inmates incarcerated currently that are serving mandatory minimum sentences, and the impact mandatory minimum laws have on the prison systems. Before we jump to judgmental conclusions about someone that has been convicted of a crime, then sentenced a lengthy prison term under the mandatory minimum laws, we must first dissect ourselves. I will leave you with this simple question: Have you ever made a decision without fully understanding how the outcome would turn