Congress enacted mandatory minimums in 1986 and toughened them in 1988 to apply to drug conspiracies and certain gun offenses. The sentence is determined solely by the weight and type of drug, or the presence of a firearm during a felony offense.
FAMM works to repeal mandatory minimums because they undermine the American tradition of justice by preventing judges from fitting the punishment to the individual’s role in the offense. Because of mandatory sentencing laws, the population of federal prisons has soared and they are filled with low-level, nonviolent drug law violators – not the “kingpins” mandatory sentences intended to apprehend.
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Federal Policy Updates: News from D.C.
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