Panel Examines Harm Caused by Mandatory Minimums
Feature Story by Andrew Post - 9/27/2006
What happens to drug users once they leave prison?
According to Philadelphia's mayor, John Street, they will likely end up behind bars again.
The high recidivism rate for small time drug users was just one of the issues tied to mandatory minimum sentencing discussed at a September 7th event hosted by Representative Maxine Waters, D. Ca. Panelists at the event said that mandatory minimums have put a real strain on localities noting a significant rise in prison costs attributed to an increase in drug incarcerations.
According to Mayor Street, mandatory minimums are crowding prisons with people who should not be there. "There are kids spending time in jail when they should be spending time in school," Mayor Street said. "Some of them are college-worthy but have to spend the next few years in jail because of mandatory minimums."
Critics have also said that mandatory minimums are a problem because they hinder the discretion of judges in sentencing, who are bound by statute to place the convicted behind bars. Existing statutes do not allow judges to hand down alternative punishments, nor do they give them the option to prescribe treatment instead.
"Judges don't control the sentencing, prosecutors control the sentencing," said Mayor Street.
However, most critics have said that the worst aspect of mandatory minimums is their racially discriminatory impact.
"A policy that is designed to take a systematic approach to criminal apprehension and which disproportionately incarcerates minorities when doing so is racially discriminatory. Such policies contravene our civil rights, and minorities' rights in particular," said Wade Henderson, executive director for the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.
The federal crack cocaine law, sometimes called the "100:1 quantity ratio," is often cited as the worst instance of racial discrimination caused by mandatory minimums. Under this law it takes 100 times more powder cocaine than crack cocaine to receive the same penalty, despite recent studies that show no difference in the properties between the two. Crack cocaine is used by poor African Americans because it is relatively inexpensive, whereas powder cocaine is used predominantly by whites.
"How is it fair justice when one drug is undeniably easier for blacks to access, and the other for whites?" asked The Honorable Roosevelt Dorn, Mayor of Inglewood. "I detest mandatory minimum sentencing in every way possible."
The discriminatory effects of mandatory minimums led the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (ICHR) to hold a hearing on March 3 to investigate whether they violate the American Declaration of Rights and Duties of Man, the world's first international human rights resolution. ICHR is one of the two bodies of the inter-American system that addresses the promotion and protection of human rights in the Americas.
Justice Roundtable, who testified at the hearing, recommended ICHR investigate mandatory minimums and provide the U.S. government with a legal analysis of any findings and guidelines for compliance with the American Declaration if a violation of the resolution can be determined.
