Why we need mandatory sentencing (Congress, regular, felony, carry)

[Petertherock]

Because of the failed criminal justice system and the moron judges. The President of the San Francisco PD Association says it all here...

SAN FRANCISCO: SF Police Officers Association President Gary Delagnes Lashes Out At Judical System And Media - Video - KTVU San Francisco (http://www.ktvu.com/video/9591734/index.html?taf=fran - broken link)

[saganista]

The case doesn't involve mandatory sentencing. It involves one man's disagreement with a judge's decision in what was an adversarial proceeding regarding bail...

[GregW]

I prefer the current system where a judge hears the case and decides the appropriate action instead of a bureaucratized set of rules that could prevent a just decision.

In other words I am far more likely to trust a judge than a cop.[/font][/color]

[Petertherock]

This guy in question was out on bail and committed a felony (armed robbery) then they let him out on bail again and he commit another felony. Then this moron judge let him go again. People like to complain about the police until you are the one that is the victim of the crime.

[Rggr]

There are some judges that are not good. When Congress inserts bureaucracy to address those few, you get more bad decisions.

[LM1]

Mandatory sentencing is a catastrophe and has shown itself to be such, regularly miscarrying justice, wherever its applied.

Whenever we make broad, sweeping laws based on isolated instances or anecdotes, we fail ourselves miserably.

There's a reason we have judges. If we are going to do away with their discretion to sentence in accord with the crime, then we're basically doing away with their entire functional intent in the first place.

I would much rather see us err on the side of discretion and occasionally, endure a bad decision from a moron judge than see us grossly over-sentence people because judges don't have the discretion to apply the appropriate punishment.