Mandatory Minimums and the Betrayal of Sentencing Reform: A Legislative Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde*

Abstract

From the dispassionate one came the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, creating the United States Sentencing Commission and the federal sentencing guidelines under which all federal crimes since 1987 have been punished. From the impulsive one—in random, angry bursts—came mandatory minimums. They are a legislative Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and their simultaneous existence is a mortal danger to themselves and society. As recognized in 1983 by the one Senator who opposed both the Sentencing Reform Act and mandatory minimums, Senator Mathias, "hardly anyone disagrees" that there is too much disparity in criminal sentences and that prison sentences are too indeterminate in duration. While mandatory minimum sentences may increase severity, the data suggest that uneven application may dramatically reduce certainty.