Mandatory sentencing is not cost-effective compared to other methods of reducing crime, and has been found to disproportionately impact Indigenous peoples and other minorities in several countries.
[6] In 1994, Safety Valve laws were created to reduce mandatory sentencing for certain nonviolent, non-managerial drug offenders with little or no criminal history.
[9] For example, Santos Reyes was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 29 years after he was convicted of perjury in relation to cheating on his drivers licence test in 1997.
[10] Other examples include Curtis Roberts, who was sentenced to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 50 years for three non-violent thefts which combined only obtained $116.
[17] In 2013, United States Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. announced that the Justice Department would follow a new policy restricting mandatory minimum sentences in certain drug cases.
[18] In Alleyne v. United States (2013) the Supreme Court held that increasing a sentence past the mandatory minimum requirement must be submitted by a jury and found factual beyond a reasonable doubt.
Attorney General Holder held that the charges placed on an individual should reflect the uniqueness of the case and consideration in assessing and fairly representing his/her given conduct.
[20] In 2005, United States v. Booker found that mandatory federal sentencing guidelines violated the Sixth Amendment right to a trial by jury.
[21] In 2010, the case of Graham v. Florida ruled it is unconstitutional to sentence people under 18 to mandatory life-imprisonment without parole for non-homicide offenses.
[26] In Germany, murder for pleasure, sexual gratification, greed or other base motives, by stealth or cruelly or by means that pose a danger to the public or to facilitate or cover up another offense is mandatorily punished by life imprisonment.
[28] Mandatory sentences have been challenged on grounds that they violate the separation of powers required by the constitution, by allowing the Oireachtas (legislature) to interfere in the judicial process.
In response to prison overcrowding, the law was changed in 2008 to reduce the number of such sentences being passed, by restoring judicial discretion and abolishing the presumption that a repeat offender is dangerous.
[36] In 1997, mandatory "three strikes" laws were introduced for property offences in the Northern Territory, which raised incarceration rates of Indigenous women by 223% in the first year.
These laws were championed by NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell largely due to the wide media coverage of similar cases.
[46] Australia also has legislation allowing mandatory prison sentences of between five and 25 years for people smuggling, in addition to a fine of up to $500,000, and forfeiture and destruction of the vessel or aircraft used in the offence.
Since 2002, judges have the ability to overrule mandatory sentences where they would be deemed "manifestly unjust", such as in cases involving mercy killings and attempted suicide pacts.
[48][49] However, following the conservative victory at the 2023 New Zealand general election, the three strikes laws were reinstated in 2024, though with some relaxed conditions including implementing a "manifestly unjust" exception to allow some judicial discretion.
The mandatory death penalty provided in Section 31A of India Law is in the nature of minimum sentence in respect of repeat offenders of specified activities and for offences involving large quantities of specified categories of narcotic drugs.
Accordingly, people are more likely to contest charges, placing additional financial burden on the criminal justice system and increased workloads for courts.
[64] In 2015, a number of United States reformers, including the ACLU, the Center for American Progress, Families Against Mandatory Minimums, Koch family foundations, the Coalition for Public Safety, and the MacArthur Foundation, announced a bipartisan resolution to reform the criminal justice system and reduce mandatory sentencing laws.
Their efforts were lauded by President Obama who noted these reforms will improve rehabilitation and workforce opportunities for those who have served their sentences.
[65][66][67][68] In 2019, then presidential candidate Joe Biden unveiled his criminal justice reform plan which would eliminate mandatory minimum sentences.