NCJ Number
236778
Date Published
October 2011
Length
422 pages
Annotation
This report from the United States Sentencing Commission presents information on the impact of mandatory minimum penalties on Federal sentencing.
Abstract
Highlights from this report examining the effect of mandatory minimum penalties on Federal sentencing include: in fiscal year (FY) 2010, over 27 percent of offenders sentenced in Federal courts were convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty; over 77 percent of the convictions with a mandatory minimum penalty were for drug trafficking offenses; 90 percent of offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty were male, almost 39 percent were Hispanic, and almost 74 percent were U.S. citizens; offenders convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty pled guilty at a slightly lower rate (94 percent) than offenders not convicted of an offense carrying a mandatory minimum penalty (97 percent); and only 14. Percent of all Federal offenders were subject to a mandatory minimum penalty t sentencing. This report from the United States Sentencing Commission presents information on the impact of mandatory minimum penalties on Federal sentencing. The report was prepared as required by congressional directive and includes 11 specific recommendations to Congress concerning changes to sentencing guidelines. The report contains 12 chapters that cover the following issues: the interaction between mandatory minimum penalties and the sentencing guidelines; changes in the Federal criminal justice system, mandatory minimum penalties, and the Federal prison population; policy views about mandatory minimum penalties; the use of mandatory minimum penalties in selected districts; a statistical overview of mandatory minimum penalties; and data on mandatory minimum penalties for drug offenses, firearm offenses, sex offenses, and identity theft offenses. Figures and appendixes