Violent crime is on the rise in some of the largest cities, including Washington D.C., where a number of proposals from Mayor Muriel Bowser were discussed this past week among lawmakers.
The nation is divided over how to deal with the rising crime rates, with Republicans in Georgia pushing to keep mandatory minimum sentencing laws in place as Democrats try to get rid of them in an effort to lessen mass incarceration.
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Mandatory minimum sentencing regulations can vary by state but mostly follow the same definition — laws that require judges to impose prison terms of a particular length for people convicted of certain federal and state crimes, according to The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. States range in mandatory minimums for different offenses, from gun-related crimes to drug convictions.
"Mandatory minimums normalize harsh sentences, increase racial disparities in sentencing, limit consideration of individual circumstances, and allow prosecutors to coerce people into waiving away their constitutional rights,” Ellen Flenniken, deputy director of the ACLU's Justice Division, told the Washington Examiner.
The call to action emerges as some of the big cities are experiencing a steep rise in crime.
Lawmakers are facing increased pressure to take action against the seemingly out-of-control violence numbers, and mandatory minimums have often been looked at as a solution.
“There's been a lot of research on mandatory minimums over a very long period of time, and it basically suggests that mandatory minimums don't work that way,” John Maki, the Director of the Council on Criminal Justice’s Task Force on Long Sentences told the Washington Examiner.
Maki, along with a team of 15 other panel experts, worked on a year-long analysis to produce a comprehensive approach to prison sentences in the United States. The Task Force on Long Sentences outlines 14 recommendations aimed at strengthening judicial discretion, advancing individual and system accountability, bolstering public safety and helping victims of crimes, and decreasing racial and ethnic disparities that are associated with mandatory minimums.
Despite research indicating longer sentences may not prove effective in discouraging crime, the increased crime rates in cities such as Washington D.C. have prompted officials to take legislative steps in an attempt to protect public safety.
D.C. Democratic Mayor Bowser introduced a new proposal on Monday that would increase prison sentences for gun offenses and other criminal activity and loosen restrictions on judges holding individuals awaiting trial.
“The problem is mandatory minimums; they seek to remove the discretion that judges would appear to have,” Maki said. “But really what it does is it takes that discretion, and it either vests it or strengthens even the power that the prosecutors and even police officers have, in terms of arresting, charging crimes.”
Maki cites that “90 percent or more” of sentences, depending on where you are located, are through plea deals; therefore, arrangements are “worked out before a judge really has the discretion to go one way or the other.”
Most types of crime in D.C. are up from last year, with D.C. Police Department data released on Thursday showing homicides had increased by 11%, violent crime by 14%, robberies by 20%, and overall crime by 27%.
“No one can be satisfied with increasing crime trends in any category. I certainly am not. In D.C., like what is happening around our country, we’ve experienced some concerning increases in crime,” Bowser said on Tuesday in front of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability.
“It is my number one priority to ensure that Washington, DC is a place where all our children can grow up safely, enjoy their full rights as American citizens, and where they can live up to their God-given potential,” Bowser said while defending her package of legislation and suggesting her 2024 budget will provide relief.
Some lawmakers are narrowing in on alternative approaches to sentencing that reform specific areas of criminal activity, such as drug-related offenses.
Last month, a bipartisan bill was introduced to lower mandatory minimum sentences for specific nonviolent drug offenses. The Smarter Sentencing Act was brought forward by Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Mike Lee (R-UT), and Tim Kaine (D-VA).
“This bipartisan bill would be a much-needed update to our one-size-fits-all approach to sentencing,” Kaine said in a statement on April 5.
In 2018, Kaine helped to pass into law the First Step Act, another bipartisan legislation focused on criminal justice. This bill reduced mandatory minimums from 25 years to 15 for a “defendant who uses a firearm in a crime of violence or drug offense after a prior conviction for such offense,” as stated in the bill.
At least 29 states have instituted some level or form of mandatory sentence reform since 2000, according to the Vera Institute of Justice.
States such as New York, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Montana, Maryland, Michigan, Iowa, and Louisiana have repealed mandatory minimum drug laws, leading the nation to take steps to do so, according to the nonprofit group Families Against Mandatory Minimums.
“The research that we do have on deterrence suggests that what really impacts deterrence, what really helps the criminal justice system deter people from committing a crime, is a swiftness and the certainty of the penalty,” Maki said.
One of the main arguments in support of mandatory minimums is the idea that longer prison sentences would deter crime. Republican lawmakers have often pushed to keep mandatory minimums in place.
“One of the ways that mandatory minimums can actually cause dysfunction in the criminal system – is it can lengthen the process from arrest charge to actual sentence,” Maki said. “People might go to trial more often, just all kinds of things like that can interrupt the ability for the justice to respond quickly and certainly.”
Recently the GOP in Georgia introduced and passed Senate Bill 44, enacting a mandatory minimum for street gang violence violations, and the bill went into law at the end of April. State Senate Floor Leader Bo Hatchett was a primary sponsor of the bill, saying, “Enhancing gang sentencing across the board will ensure tough prison sentences for more gang offenders while offering a strong incentive for those accused of gang activity to cooperate with prosecutors” in a press release.
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The future of long prison sentences has been debated between Democrats and Republicans for years. As more legislation enters Congress, lawmakers are once again looking for a solution to the state sentencing laws.
"The reliance on incarceration isn’t working — to deliver safety and justice for all of us, we must focus on preventing crime before it happens, not punishment after it's already occurred,” Flenniken said. “We can improve public safety and strengthen communities by investing in proven solutions such as good jobs, affordable housing, and mental health and addiction services."