Sentencing/Post Conviction
Poll Finds Support for Ending Some Mandatory Minimums
Posted Sep 24, 2008, 11:43 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Fifty-nine percent of those polled by a sentencing group oppose mandatory minimum sentences for some nonviolent offenders.
The poll (PDF) by Families Against Mandatory Minimums found a similar percentage—57 percent—would be likely to vote for a candidate for Congress who would eliminate mandatory minimums for nonviolent crimes, according to a press release. Seventy-eight percent said courts are best-qualified to determine sentences, while 16 percent said Congress should set standardized sentences.
The group also released a report (PDF) that said mandatory minimums were designed to stop drug trafficking but they have not stopped drug sales or discouraged drug use.
The group is citing its findings in urging Congress to end mandatory minimums. “Our report and poll show that lawmakers can vote to reform mandatory minimums for nonviolent offenses and live to tell the story,” report author Molly Gill said in the press release.
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