Mandatory Minimum Sentencing

Abstract

Mandatory minimum penalties are criminal sentences that involve minimum punishments determined by statutory law. They can apply to specific offenses, specific offenders, or to particular combinations of offense and offender characteristics. Although mandatory minimum penalties vary by state and by type of crime, they typically require some minimum term of incarceration to be served by the offender. Some mandatory minimums apply to specific offense behavior (e.g., five years for possession of a firearm), whereas others, such as “habitual offender laws,” apply to specific categories of repeat offenders. “Three-strikes laws” are well-known examples of habitual offender laws that typically require a sentence of twenty-five years to life for a third-time violent felon. Although the US Congress repealed most mandatory minimum sentences in 1970, by 1994 all fifty states had reenacted one or more mandatory sentencing laws, and the federal justice system now has more than one hundred different mandatory sentencing provisions. Mandatory minimum sentences have been heavily criticized by academic scholars for their severity, rigidity, selective application, and widespread circumvention. These minimum sentences remain relatively popular among the general public, although they have been criticized by academics and prisoner rights groups.