Topic: Mandatory Minimums

Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a memo directing federal prosecutors to seek the toughest possible charges and mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses. This policy reverses Obama-era reforms intended to reduce the federal prison population. Critics point to the profit motives of private prisons and the reliance on inmate labor as underlying drivers for these harsher sentencing guidelines.

Attorney General Eric Holder addressed the American Bar Association in San Francisco to announce a Justice Department policy shift regarding mandatory minimum sentences. The new directive instructs federal prosecutors to avoid charging low-level, non-violent drug offenders with offenses that trigger draconian mandatory minimums. Holder cited the fact that the U.S. holds 25% of the world's prisoners despite having only 5% of the global population as a primary reason for the recalibration.

The Fair Sentencing Act of 2010 reduced the disparity between crack and powder cocaine sentences. While the threshold for a five-year mandatory minimum for crack was raised from 5 grams to 28 grams, the hosts argue the policy still heavily favors powder cocaine users and maintains a massive law enforcement budget.

The Canadian government has introduced the "Safe Streets and Communities Act," a mega-bill that implements mandatory minimum sentences and doubles penalties for growing marijuana. Critics argue the bill is a waste of money given that crime rates have been dropping for 20 years. The expansion is viewed as an effort to mirror the US prison-industrial complex and create a new pool of cheap prison labor.