The Right Ideas for Smart Sentencing

I just can't do it any more, a federal judge said recently. I cannot rule in cases where I'm compelled to impose sentences I feel are unjust. The judge was Jack Weinstein, and he was referring to laws that set mandatory minimum sentences, especially for drug offenders. Laws passed by Congress decree that crime X shall receive punishment Y-no matter what the individual circumstances may be.

I recently received a call from a very puzzled U.S. senator. He went home for the congressional recess, expecting to face questions from his constituents about all the hot issues: health care, NAFTA, TV violence.

In Florida recently two men murdered a Turkish exchange student. Both had been convicted several times before and should never have been on the streets.

Emma Jean Oliver, a single mother of four, stood before a Texas judge awaiting sentence for a minor drug offense. By law, she could get three years in prison, with fines up to $250,000.

Congress has been passing bills faster than McDonald's flips hamburgers. They're all part of the gargantuan omnibus crime bill whose sole purpose seems to be to prove that federal lawmakers are serious about fighting crime.