Why do we need to repeal mandatory minimum drug sentencing laws in Delaware?
• This bill would return to judges the discretion to tailor sentences to individuals according to the offenders role in the offense, the seriousness of the offense, and the potential for rehabilitation. • One-size-fits-all mandatory minimum drug sentences are inaccurate and risk adding to our already bloated incarcerated population. • These laws are expensive: • Delaware spends more, per capita, on corrections expenditures than any other state and has one of the highest incarceration rates in the country; • Each inmate costs Delaware taxpayers $26,000 a year; and • Alternatives to incarceration, such as drug treatment, would be more cost-effective. • These laws are ineffective: • There is no evidence to show that these drug laws deter individuals from drug crimes. • These laws are unjust: • They transfer sentencing authority from an objective, neutral judge with all the facts of the case to an adversarial prosecutor, who may not have all the facts, which opens the door to injustice thr
