They did everything but admit that the Drug War has been a complete failure. I could not conceive of a more ill advised strategy than mandatory sentencing. Mr. Colson also stated that mandatory sentences are the most counterproductive policy possible, and that violent criminals are being released in order to jail nonviolent people on mandatory minimums. He also said that drugs were just as available in prisons as on the street. Over 4 million of us are substance addicted.
Prisons are monuments to failure.
The only mandatory sentence should be mandatory treatment. That's the size of the U.S. Air Force. We need a revolution in our criminal justice system. Gods, I still can t believe they see it so clearly. I think this is going to be a huge campaign issue in 1998 and 2000.