MANDATORY SENTENCING REQUIRES NEW REFORMS

I am writing to ask you to support SB 1160, a bill to allow more
judicial discretion in sentencing nonviolent offenders.

Mandatory minimums have not actually reduced sentencing discretion.
Instead, control has simply been transferred from judges to
prosecutors.

Prosecutors, not judges, determine whether to reduce a charge,
whether to accept a plea bargain, and whether to reward a defendant's
cooperation in a case against someone else. These decisions
ultimately determine what the final sentence will be.

Please consider writing to your state senator and representative
concerning SB 1160. This can be done online at www.mpp.org/CT (the
Marijuana Policy Project).

Robert White
DANBURY