DRUG SENTENCING MINIMUMS GONE

LANSING (AP) Gov. John Engler has signed bills eliminating mandatory minimum
sentences for drug crimes in Michigan, his spokesman said Friday.

The legislation requires judges to follow state sentencing guidelines for
drug criminals but gives them more discretion.

Under the old law, for example, someone possessing 50 to 224 grams of
narcotics or cocaine in Michigan had to be sentenced to at least 10 years in
prison. The new law eliminates the minimum, allowing the judge to sentence
an offender for any time up to 20 years.

The law will go into effect March 1.

The state Department of Corrections doesn't know how many of Michigan's
49,296 inmates would be eligible for parole, but supporters of the
legislation said it will help reduce the state's skyrocketing prison
population.

Michigan has had among the harshest mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines
in the nation, said Laura Sager, executive director of Families Against
Mandatory Minimums.