The little state that could

Rhode Island’s legislature voted to remove mandatory-minimums.

The General Assembly has approved legislation that rolls back mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes, a move that proponents hope will cut costs, ease overcrowding at the state prison and give judges more discretion in meting out punishment.

The vote, in the waning hours of the legislative session that concluded early Saturday, comes as the prison grapples with a rising inmate population and adds Rhode Island to a growing list of states where lawmakers have mulled changes to their sentencing policies.

The legislation repeals minimum sentences imposed for drug crimes and also reduces the maximum punishment an offender can receive. Under the bill, for instance, a defendant convicted of possessing more than one kilogram of heroin, or more than five kilograms of marijuana, would no longer face a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in prison.

“It would give the judges discretion,” Metts said. “Certainly in the late teens, early 20s, people do make mistakes. It shouldn’t mean that your life is over.”

It’s not clear how much impact the bill would have on the inmate population — which surged earlier this month to a record-high of 3,889 — since most drug offenders in Rhode Island already receive relatively short prison sentences. In 2006, the average sentence for a drug offense was 20 months, with only 6 inmates getting sentences of 10 years or more, according to data provided by the state Department of Corrections.

Criticisms of mandatory-minimum sentences have been voiced for a number of years now, so it is great to see a state taking this step to address head on the problems of prison overcrowding. Whether this has any actual impact remains to be seen. According to the linked article, Michigan is apparently the only other state in the country that has taken the step of eliminating min-mans for drug offenses.

HT: Think Outside The Cage