Mandatory Minimums Worked. Now They Must Go.

Aug. 15 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Attorney General Eric Holderannounced this week that the Justice Department wouldsignificantly alter how nonviolent drug offenders are charged inorder to circumvent mandatory minimum sentencing requirements.

Some will support the new policies because taking theamount of drugs associated with a crime out of considerationwill reduce sentences, along with the U.S.’s high incarcerationrate. Opponents will argue that stringent sentencing rules havehelped bring down the violent-crime rate from the terrifyinglevels seen during the second half of the 20th century. Andwhile lowering costs by reducing the prison population isattractive, some may worry that this is just cost-shifting:Individual citizens could suffer the consequences ofvictimization by those released under the new policies.