Mandatory minimum sentences are an old idea, but not a good one

by Jeremy Cady, Missouri Independent

As a matter of common sense, the criminal justice system and our law enforcement agencies should make us safer.

If you’ve been arrested for certain corruption, violence, drug, or gun-related charges, you may be facing several years in prison without eligibility for parole because of New Jersey state laws that include mandatory minimum sentences.

In New Jersey, since 1979, the courts have utilized mandatory minimum sentences, which means that an offender must serve the entire ‘minimum sentence’ before being eligible for parole consideration.

New Jersey has a No Early Release Act (NERA) and it is not likely to change anytime soon. Under NERA, violent crimes require at least 85% of the sentence to be served.

Mandatory minimum terms are not reduced by earned credits such as commutation, good behavior, or work.

Currently, in New Jersey, there are many pieces of legislation under consideration that would increase the use of mandatory minimums and roll back parole eligibility. The truth is, these bills won’t make us safer – but they will cost a lot.

Mandatory minimum sentences are an old idea, but not a good one. They’re a “one size fits all scheme” that forces judges to operate as glorified clerks, ticking off boxes that add up to certain mandatory minimum prison terms.

These types of laws restrict judges from taking into account the full situation of each case. Rather than making “the time fit the crime,” mandatory minimums make judicial disasters far more common.

All Americans deserve to be safe, yet according to CSG Justice Center, 63 percent of violent crime incidents reported to police in the United States in 2022 went unsolved, which is 6 percentage points higher than 2019. In New Jersey during 2022, 53 percent of violent crimes reported to police were not solved.

If we are concerned about safety, shouldn’t we focus on solving that 53 percent instead of increasing punishment for the 37%? Mandatory minimums may sound tough, but long sentences across the board just don’t simply reduce crime, as proven by more than 30 years of evidence shows it.

One 50-state study found no relationship between long drug sentences and drug use or overdose rates, and another study found that mandatory minimums for illegal gun possession did not reduce gun ownership or violent crime rates. People committing crimes either don’t know or don’t care about these laws. But, the bureaucratic rubber-stamping of mandatory minimums carry staggering costs.

Outside of Medicaid, prison costs are the second-fastest growing area of state budgets. Prisons cost most states almost five times more than they did in the mid-1980s due to having to house and feed people for much longer periods of time. Heavy taxpayer burdens like these demand a closer look.

There are many ways to lower costs without harming public safety, and scrapping mandatory minimums would be a good place to start. Judges can still impose harsh sentences where incapacitation, ensuring an individual cannot commit future crimes, is warranted. We just don’t need them to incapacitate across the board when safety might be better served by a parent working and providing for their family while on supervision.

Overly long prison sentences also devastate families. Families are the building blocks of our society, and too rarely do we recognize that this is especially true for public safety.

Family ties are one of the strongest determinants of whether a person will be rehabilitated or commit new crimes. Supportive family members provide emotional support to help incarcerated people cope with the stresses of being locked up, as well as successfully re-entering society and finding housing and job success.

We don’t have to paint with such a broad brush all the time. Yes, some people are dangerous or have done things so bad they should never leave prison.

That’s not most people.

Most people can and do change as they age. Ninety percent of incarcerated people eventually complete their sentences and come home to work and be with their families. Overly harsh prison sentences, including those that relocate people away from their community, can harden people and prevent rehabilitation by severing critical family ties.

We all deserve to live in safe communities. Taxpayer dollars should go toward cost-effective solutions that work, instead of outdated and ineffective policies like minimum sentencing requirements. We should start by untying the hands of judges and letting them do their jobs.

Lawmakers should keep mandatory minimums and parole rollbacks off the table this year, so that families can be part of the solution for a safer and healthier America.