Mandatory sentencing fills the system with “small fish.”  As noted above in response to the Pro, most convicts are not high-repeat criminals; a study similar to the one mentioned above found that in a sample of a cohort of teenage boys in Philadelphia, 33% had engaged in delinquent behavior at some point, but 60% of the crime was committed by a group of recidivists that made up only 7% of the population. [1] Harsh punishments for all offenders have led to an overcrowded prison system; overcrowding decreases safety within prisons and reduces the chance of rehabilitation because prisons have fewer resources per prisoner to provide educational and work training. [2] By filling the system with “small fish,” the Pro reduce the prison system’s ability to address serious threats to society.  [1] Bruce Western, Punishment and Inequality in America, Russell Sage Foundation, NY, 2006, 176.  [2] Craig Haney, “Prison Overcrowding: Harmful Consequences and Dysfunctional Reactions,” Vera Institute of Justice, 6. [