MANDATORY SENTENCES NEED REVIEW

Congress should heed Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy's recent
complaints about "mandatory minimum" federal prison sentences,
detailed in remarks before a congressional committee. So should state
legislators who have passed mandatory sentencing bills without
sufficient recognition of possible consequences. One of the most
apparent consequences has been an ever-increasing number of inmates in
prison. That figure has now passed 2.1 million in U.S. prisons,
according to Justice Kennedy. Meanwhile, states are struggling with
budget problems that are requiring cuts in prison staffing.

"Mandatory minimum" sentences foreclose judicial discretion, with the
result that many prisoners have been sentenced to long prison terms
for relatively minor or nonviolent crimes, Justice Kennedy said in
comments quoted by The Associated Press.

"Mandatory minimums are harsh and in many cases unjust," Justice
Kennedy said. "In many cases, our sentences are too long." The AP
noted that Justice Clarence Thomas, also at the hearing, nodded in
apparent agreement, as Justice Kennedy made his remarks.

Neither Justices Kennedy nor Thomas can be considered soft on crime.
Justice Kennedy, named to the high court by Ronald Reagan, is viewed
as a moderate conservative. Justice Thomas, appointed by the first
President Bush, is one of the court's most conservative members.

"Mandatory minimums" were introduced to deal with career criminals,
who are responsible for an inordinate amount of criminal activity.
They also were a response to judges who previously used their
discretion to give inappropriately light sentences to serious
criminals. "Mandatory minimums" also have been invoked in the nation's
war on drugs.

Justice Kennedy's remarks acknowledge that the laws have gone further
than intended. The public expense of maintaining criminals and the
increasing prison population should encourage policy-makers to review
existing "mandatory minimums" to ensure that the laws don't apply too
broadly, and that required sentences are appropriate to the crime.