ted into money for additional beds for the bulging prison population.Mandatory minimums are resulting in a losing war on drugs and over crowding in the prison system. As of 1999 almost 1.8 million Americans are incarcerated. Seven times as many women since 1980 are incarcerated largely due to new mandatory sentences. (Cose) This means that thousands of children will be without mothers, and put into the system. America has reverted to locking up their problems. Overcrowding is not only a problem for the Department of Corrections (DOC) but also for the inmates. Overcrowding means less space and more violence between inmates. Overcrowded prisons also means overcrowded county jails, where state offenders will be held. Prisoners often complain of unbearably high noise levels, inadequate exercise and poor ventilation. This 1.8 million figure gave the “Land of the Free” the second highest confinement rate in the world, right behind Russia (Levitt). The criminal justice system needs to find another way to fight crime.Mandatory sentencing laws state that a mandatory sentence must be imposed regardless of a person’s role in the crime or other mitigating factors. Prosecutors, not judges, have the discretion to decide what charge to bring; whether to accept or deny a plea bargain. Mandatory sentencing is defined as: a sentence determined by statutes and requiring that a certain penalty be imposed and carried out for convicted offenders who meet certain criteria. This definition should include required drug intervention, mental health treatment, and drug education with the possibility of early release if the prisoner successfully completes the programs. Th fact that incarceration rates have tripled since the 1994 Crime Act and crime has not dramatically fallen, commentators have labeled the new confidence in the prison system as a policy failure. Commentators have recommended that there be a halt on building new prisons...
