Mandatory minimum sentences completely eliminate a judge's discretion when choosing an appropriate punishment for an offender. This curtailing of the courts traditional sentencing rights greatly ...

Advocates for changes to the laws say mandatory minimum sentencing does not allow a judge to consider unique circumstances surrounding a case. Gwen Levi walks with her head held high down a busy ...

Attorney General Eric Holder, speaks about the mandatory minimum policy at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's 2013 annual legislative conference in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 19, 2013. (AP ...

It didn't get much media attention, but if you go to page 654 of the 655-page the National Defense Authorization Act of 2010, signed by President Barack Obama on Oct. 28, 2009, you will find Sec. 4713 ...

Judge Bennett retired from the federal bench in 2019, and is now Director Emeritus of the Institute for Justice Reform & Innovation at Drake University Law School. Judge Bennett retired from the ...

Coffee Creek Correctional Facility is the only women's prison in the state. Credit: GOOGLE MAPS At any given time, there are between 1,200 and 1,300 women detained in Coffee Creek Correctional ...

Beginning in October, repeat sexual offenders in Florida will serve a minimum of a decade in jail for their crimes. A new Florida law establishing a minimum sentence for people repeatedly convicted of ...

In back-to-back rulings, the New Jersey Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the state’s rules for mandatory prison time for certain gun offenses. In two decisions a day apart, the Supreme Court said ...

Gwen Levi walks with her head held high down a busy section of downtown Baltimore. The 77-year-old grandmother is headed for her job at the local library. Levi's life lately is a far cry from where ...