Julie Stewart

Julie Stewart is president of Families Against Mandatory Minimums. In the following viewpoint she argues that mandatory minimum sentences are unfair to convicted defendants and the judges who must sentence them. Under mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines, judges can no longer use their discretion to determine an appropriate sentence for a drug offender. Instead, Congress has determined what each defendant’s sentence should be, regardless of any mitigating circumstances. Sending these drug offenders to prison for five or ten years for minor crimes destroys their lives and the lives of their families. Mandatory minimum sentences must be repealed, she concludes.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. How many marijuana plants were the author’s brother and his friends growing when they were arrested?
2. Why did Jeff’s friends receive probation...