Anaya Nolan
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws, which require a predefined term of imprisonment for certain crimes, have been implemented in all 50 US states and DC, and have been criticised for their negative impacts on racial disparities, prison overcrowding, and community safety. The history of mandatory minimums in the US can be traced back to the Boggs Act of 1951, which set mandatory minimum sentences for first-time cannabis possession offences. However, the use of mandatory minimums expanded significantly in the 1980s, with the passage of the 1984 Comprehensive Crime Control Act and the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which imposed harsh mandatory minimum sentences for drug-related offences. These laws have been amended over time, with efforts such as the Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 aiming to reduce racial disparities in sentencing. Despite growing bipartisan agreement that mandatory minimum sentences are a policy failure, they continue to be promoted as a tool to combat crime.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Year of Implementation | 1984, with the Sentencing Reform Act |
| Other Names | Three-strike laws, 10-20-Life |
| Crimes Covered | Minor offences to extremely violent crimes, including drug possession and murder |
| Sentencing | 2-5 years for a first offence, 5-10 years for a second |
| Impact | Prison overcrowding, deepening of racial disparities, mass incarceration, perpetuation of the crisis of punitiveness toward Black and Brown communities |
| Opposition | Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Brennan Center for Justice, The Sentencing Project |
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What You'll Learn
The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986
The Act's first title, Anti-Drug Enforcement, covers narcotics penalties, assets forfeiture, labeling of controlled substances, money laundering, armed career criminals, appropriations for drug law enforcement, state and local narcotics control assistance, narcotics traffickers deportation, and Freedom of Information Act issues, among other topics. The Act also implemented mandatory sentencing for offences related to cocaine and marijuana, with 2-5 years for a first offence and 5-10 years for a second.
The Act also had a significant impact on racial disparities in the criminal justice system. The law created a quantity-based 100:1 disparity between federal crack cocaine and powder cocaine offenses, with a mandatory minimum sentence of 5 years in federal prison for crimes involving 5 grams of crack cocaine, while crimes involving 500 grams of powder cocaine received the same sentence. This disparity contributed to a mass increase in black prison rates, with the number of black people sent to federal prison skyrocketing from approximately 50 in 100,000 adults to approximately 250 in 100,000 adults, while there was almost no change in the number of white people incarcerated in federal prison.
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Three-strike laws
In the context of the law, the "three strikes" refer to convictions, and the "out" refers to a life sentence. In other words, if an individual is convicted of a crime for a third time, they will receive a life sentence. The purpose of these laws is to drastically increase the punishment of those who continue to offend after being convicted of one or two serious crimes.
The first true "three-strikes" law was passed in 1993 when Washington voters approved Initiative 593. California passed a similar law in 1994, with 72% in favour and 28% against. California's law imposed a life sentence for almost any crime, no matter how minor, if the defendant had two prior convictions for serious or violent crimes.
Despite this criticism, the Supreme Court has upheld three-strike laws, stating that states have a "valid interest in deterring and segregating habitual criminals".
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Mandatory minimums disproportionately impact minorities
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws require a specific minimum prison term for certain crimes, regardless of individual circumstances. In the United States, mandatory minimums were first enacted for drug offences in the early 20th century, but most of these were repealed by 1970. However, in the mid-1970s, anti-imprisonment and anti-discrimination reformers criticised the rehabilitative model that replaced them, arguing that it gave judges too much discretion. This criticism helped usher in the current tough-on-crime era, with mandatory minimums re-entering the federal system as a pillar of President Reagan's "War on Drugs" in the mid-1980s. Since then, mandatory minimum sentencing laws have come under fire for three primary reasons: the reallocation of power from judges to prosecutors, the extension of racism and classism, and the failure to advance community safety.
The principle that underlies mandatory minimums is dehumanization, and they have been shown to disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples and other minorities. In the US, mandatory minimums have resulted in prison terms that are considered extremely disproportionate to the crimes committed, and they have contributed to prison overcrowding, exacerbating unsanitary and dangerous living conditions. Overcrowded prisons create resource deficits for rehabilitation, mental and behavioural health, and education.
Mandatory minimums deepen racial disparities in the criminal legal system, with Black people receiving mandatory minimum sentences more frequently than whites. A 2019 study found that people of colour in New York made up 91% of arrests for crimes that carry mandatory minimums, while whites made up only 7%. At the federal level, a 2017 report on drug sentences revealed that Black people were the most likely to have been sentenced under a mandatory minimum, and that Black and Hispanic individuals comprised the majority of those convicted of drug-related offences, despite equal rates of drug use. A recent study also found that prosecutors bring mandatory minimum charges 65% more often against Black defendants, resulting in Black individuals spending more time in prison than whites for the same crimes.
The racial disparity associated with the sentencing of crack and powder cocaine offences is well known. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 created a quantity-based 100:1 disparity between federal crack cocaine and powder cocaine offences, imposing the same mandatory minimum sentence for crack cocaine possession (a drug associated with lower-income communities and communities of colour) as for possession of 100 times that amount of powder cocaine (a drug associated with wealthier, white communities). While this injustice was reduced through the Fair Sentencing Act in 2010, which lowered the disparity to 18:1, the continued existence of any disparity highlights the ongoing racial inequity of mandatory minimum sentencing.
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Mandatory minimums cause prison overcrowding
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have been found to contribute to prison overcrowding, which in turn exacerbates unsanitary and dangerous living conditions. Prison overcrowding creates resource deficits for rehabilitation, mental and behavioural health needs, and education needs.
In the United States, mandatory minimums were introduced at a federal level with the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which enacted mandatory minimum sentences for drugs, including marijuana, with 2-5 years for a first offence and 5-10 years for a second. This law also implemented mandatory sentencing for offences related to cocaine. Subsequently, all 50 states and the federal government constrained judges' discretion in sentencing by mandating minimum imprisonment terms for a wide variety of offences. These policies included mandatory prison sentences for many drug-related crimes and longer, mandatory minimum sentences for violent crimes and repeat offences.
The Sentencing Reform Act incapacitated judges' power to determine appropriate sentences and enforced mandatory minimum sentences for certain crimes by law, including drug crimes. The act was based on the logic that harsh mandatory sentences would deter people from committing crimes, but this logic failed to consider the ineffectiveness of prison as a general deterrent to criminal behaviour, substance abuse addiction, and generational trauma.
Research has shown that mandatory minimum sentences do not promote community safety and that any prison time at all increases the risk of future crime because "incarceration is inherently criminogenic". Mandatory minimums only exacerbate this situation, and a Bureau of Justice Statistics study found that more than two-thirds of people released from prison were arrested again within three years.
Furthermore, mandatory minimum sentencing laws have been found to disproportionately impact minorities, with Black and Latinx people subject to more severe punishments than white people. A 2019 study found that people of colour in New York made up 91% of arrests for crimes that carry mandatory minimums, whereas whites made up only 7%. At the federal level, a 2017 United States Sentencing Commission report on drug sentences revealed that Black people were the most likely to have been sentenced under a mandatory minimum than any other group.
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Mandatory minimums increase incarceration rates
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have been a feature of the US justice system for 50 years. These laws require a specific minimum prison term for certain crimes, regardless of individual circumstances. They are set by lawmakers, not judges, and are more common in common law jurisdictions.
Mandatory minimums have been shown to increase incarceration rates. For example, in 2022, Tennessee passed a truth-in-sentencing law requiring individuals to serve 100% of their sentence for eight separate felonies. This law is expected to increase the prison population considerably. Florida's strict 10-20-Life sentencing policy has resulted in a 50% increase in crime.
Mandatory minimums have also been shown to disproportionately impact minorities. A 2019 study found that 91% of arrests for crimes with mandatory minimum sentences in New York were people of color, compared to 7% of whites. A 2007 analysis showed that 82% of people convicted of crack-related offenses were Black, compared to 9% of whites. Black individuals are also more likely to be charged with possession or sale of drugs sufficient to trigger a mandatory minimum.
The inflexibility of mandatory minimums constrains judicial discretion and can lead to extremely disproportionate sentences. They can also hinder rehabilitation and cause harm to individuals, families, and communities. Experts agree that the US's reliance on mass incarceration is a result of politics, not crime, and that mandatory minimums have contributed to this.
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Frequently asked questions
The Comprehensive Crime Control Act of 1984 established mandatory minimum sentences and eliminated federal parole. This was followed by the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986, which imposed mandatory minimum sentences for drugs, including marijuana, and cocaine.
These laws were intended to reduce crime by acting as a deterrent and punishing repeat offenders. The "tough on crime" approach was meant to serve as a general deterrence for potential criminals, who would avoid crime due to the certainty of harsh sentences.
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have been found to disproportionately impact minorities and contribute to prison overcrowding. They have also resulted in extremely disproportionate sentences compared to the crimes committed, with some receiving life imprisonment for minor offences.
