Running Header: COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT: MANDATORY MINIMUMS

Community Problem Report: Mandatory Minimums

Sergio Olivas
The University of Texas at El Paso

COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT: MANDATORY MINIMUMS

Abstract
In an effort to combat the War on Drugs, the United States had implement mandatory
minimum sentences for individuals who committed a drug-related offenses. They had in mind of
accomplishing a few goals with this implementation: criminals would be deterred to do drugs,
public safety would be secured by incarcerating criminals for an extensive amount of time,
judges sentences towards similar cases would be more consistent, criminals would be spared
slightly in exchange for information about organized crime, and criminals would admit to their
guilt in their role with the drug-related by making a plea deal. However, harsh mandatory
sentences yield unintended and brutal consequences. The incarceration rate in the United States
skyrocketed along with the recidivism rate. This rates overwhelmingly apply to non-violent
offenders who have had difficulty to pursue economic opportunity. By looking at first-hand
accounts of Weldon Angelos and Kevin Ott, it is apparent that mandatory minimum sentences
have impacting consequences as they are both serving long sentences for what seems like minor
offenses. Mandatory sentences do prose problems to the community as the incarceration rate
causes more harm than good in the War on Drugs.

COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT: MANDATORY MINIMUMS

Community Problem Report: Mandatory Sentences

Communities across the globe are affected by drug abuse either through domestic
violence, the death of a loved one due to overdose, the inability to lead productive lives, or the
accumulating cost for medical treatment. Since the inception of the War on Drugs in the 1980s,
federal governments have aimed to reduce drug usage as well as their negative consequences.
One of the methods that came as a result of the War on Drugs is the extensive usage of
mandatory sentences, in which a person must serve a specific minimum number of years as
defined by law. While there were logical reasons to support mandatory minimums, mandatory
minimum sentences have produced unintended effects on the legal system as well as the personal
lives of individuals.
What is the rationale behind mandatory minimums?
During the 1980s, there was a public fear in the large amounts of drugs that were being
consumed each years. In addition, many citizens felt that those who were convicted of drug
charges did not serve a long-enough sentence for their role in drug usage whether it be
trafficking or consuming the materials (Leukefel, Tims, & Farabee, 2002). Congress passed the
Federal Setencing Reform Act of 1984 with the extension of the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 as
many of its supporters argued that longer sentences can achieve several goals. The first goal is
that criminals would be deterred to do drugs. For criminicals, theoretically, if the see that the
harsh punishment outweighs the benefits of engaging in a drug-related offense, they would be
inclined not to commit the offense (Leukefel, Tims, & Farabee, 2002). Second, public safety
would be secured by incarcerating criminals for an extensive amount of time. Going back to the
public outcry of not serving lengthy sentences, proponents argue that by having extensive prison
sentences, criminals would not be loose in communities in which they can pose a threat to the

COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT: MANDATORY MINIMUMS

public (Leukefel, Tims, & Farabee, 2002). Third, judges sentences towards similar cases would
be more consistent. Many in the public felt that judges exercised a strong degree of discretion
when it came to sentences and by instituting stronger mandatory sentences, criminals can be tried
according to similar circumstances (Leukefel, Tims, & Farabee, 2002). Fourth, criminals would
be spared slightly in exchange for information about organized crime. If individuals contributed
to the prosecution of identifying the criminal conduct of others, it was possible for those
individuals to receive a sentence less than the mandatory minimum (Leukefel, Tims, & Farabee,
2002. Finally, a criminal would admit to their guilt in their role with the drug-related by making
a plea deal. By making a plea deal, time and cost are saved by not going through the trial, which
makes the process of making safer communities go by quicker than by trial (Leukefel, Tims, &
Farabee, 2002).
How has the legal system changed from mandatory sentences?
Due to the long sentences as a result of mandatory
minimums, prisons are becoming overcrowded. As stated in
an article by Mortimer B Zuckerman, federal prisons today
house nearly 40 percent more inmates than they were
designed for (2014). We have 5 percent of the worlds
population but 25 percent of its prisoners And heres
another shocker: Nonviolent offenders account for 90
percent of federal prisoners (Zuckerman, 2014). These
figures are significant because while the United States is still
engaged in a global effort against the War on Drugs, the
incarceration rate of non-violent offenders has remained at high levels than compared to other

COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT: MANDATORY MINIMUMS

countries. Even the United States Attorney General, in a memo, recognized the reality that the
legal system has shifted the role of sentencing harmful criminals that place a danger to the
community to prosecuting non-violent drug-users who have weak connections to organized
crime (Holder, 2013).
From the enormous incarceration rate, there are been an equally enormous recidivism
rate. Recidivism refers to convicts who have been released from prison, but another crime has
led them back into prison. Over 650,000 people are released from state and federal prisons every
years, but at least 40 percent of those released will return to prison within the next three years
(Zukerman, 2014). The Addiction Help Center may provide a reason why inmates are returning
to prison as they assert that having a criminal record, regardless of the crime, makes it a bad
impression on employers, thus limiting their economic opportunities (Addiction Help Center
RRS, n.d.). The high recidivism rate is problematic because instead of creating a system in which
criminals become better citizens after being released from jail, the system generates a
environment for little economic opportunity for nearly half of all inmates who are released from
prison.
How has mandatory sentences affected the lives of individuals?
Meanwhile, many individuals who committed non-violent offenses are still incarcerated.
John Oliver, a talk-show host who does social commentary, discusses the effects of extensive
sentencing lengths brought by mandatory minimums. Weldon Angelos received 55 years of
prison without the chance of parole for selling small increments of marijuana to an informant of
the police (Oliver, 2015). The 55 years can be greatly attributed to Angeloss possession of a
firearm when he was trafficking the illegal substance (Families Against Mandatory Minimums,
n.d.). After the trial, many legal experts in the Angeloss community denounced the extensive

COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT: MANDATORY MINIMUMS

sentence as many filed a friend of the court brief against the sentence (Families Against
Mandatory Minimums, n.d.). Among the legal scholars is Judge Paul G. Cassell, the judge who
sentences Angelos, and he reasoned that the sentence is not fair compared to the sentences of an
air-traffic hijacker, a terrorists, or a child rapist in which the sentences of these crimes equate to
Angeloss 55 years (Oliver, 2015). In addition, his children have suffered from Angeloss
sentences because the punishment ruined his marriage and prevented him from being a father
figure (Families Against Mandatory Minimums, n.d.).
In addition to the convicted individuals who have received a mandatory minimum
sentences in the 21st century, there are those individuals who have been sentenced in the 20th
century that are serving longer sentences. Since some states have reduced the length of the
sentence terms, individuals convicted of a drug-related crime are serving a shorter sentence than
their older counter-parts (The Young Turks, 2015). For example, Kevin Ott is serving a life
sentence for trafficking a few ounces of methamphetamines in 1997 (Oliver, 2015). Since he was
sentenced in the 90s at a time where there was still a drug-scare, his life sentence is harsher than
the sentences that most new convicts receive in most states across the U.S. (The Young Turks,
2015.)
Conclusion
The United States incarcerates more people per capita today than the rest of the world,
and unfortunately, most of the individuals incarcerate were given extensive sentences for
harmless crimes they have committed. It is important to combat the societal problems that drugs
can bring to a community, but the continuing policy of the 1980s that was motivated by fear has
produced a more severe societal issue. Instead of reducing the drug consumption of the country,
many people are serving long sentences for harmless offenses. The extensive sentences have

COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT: MANDATORY MINIMUMS

destroyed the lives of nearly one percent of the population through either having life sentences or
through limiting opportunities that follow prison. The sentencing efforts to combat the War on
Drugs has yield more consequences than benefits and many need to be inform about the disparity
that mandatory minimums has brought to the United States and its communities.

COMMUNITY PROBLEM REPORT: MANDATORY MINIMUMS

Bibliography
Addiction Help Center RSS. (n.d.). Retrieved October 17, 2015, from
http://www.addictionhelpcenter.com/
Families Against Mandatory Minimum. (n.d.) Weldon Angelos. Retrieved October 25, 2015,
from http://famm.org/weldon-angelos/
Holder, E. (2013, August 12). Department Policy on Charging Mandatory Minimum Sentences
and Recidivist Enhancements in Certain Drug Cases. The Office of the Attorney General.
Retrieved October 17, 2015, from
http://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/oip/legacy/2014/07/23/ag-memo-departmentpolicypon-charging-mandatory-minimum-sentences-recidivist-enhancements-in-certaindrugcases.pdf
Leukefeld, C., Tims, F., & Farabee, D. (2002). Treatment of drug offenders: Policies and issues.
Office of National Drug Control Policy. (1999). Consequences of Illegal Drug Use. Retrieved
October 17, 2015, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/ondcppubs/publications/policy/99ndcs/iib.html
Oliver, J. (2015). Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Mandatory Minimums (HBO). Retrieved
October 17, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pDVmldTurqk
The Young Turks (2015). Largest Prisoner Release Program In US History Underway. Retreived
October 17, 2015, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIP8FM135xg
Zuckerman, M. (2014, May 9). Get a Little Less Tough on Crime. Retrieved September 28,
2015, from http://www.usnews.com/opinion/articles/2014/05/09/its-time-for-prisonreform-and-an-end-to-mandatory-minimum-sentences