Mandatory minimum sentences in New Jersey should be abolished. Such sentences lead to an inherently unequal and unfair system of punishment because they ignore disparities in the facts of specific cases and do not allow the judge to take the individualized backgrounds of offenders into consideration.

The only statute in New Jersey before 1970 that required a mandatory minimum jail sentence was the statute that criminalized the possession of drugs including a small amount of marijuana for personal use. After that statute was repealed, mandatory minimum jail sentences did not again appear in the New Jersey law until the 1980’s. There are now in excess of 80 crimes that require a statutorily mandated imposition of years in prison without the possibility of parole. Some offenses require that an incarcerated offender serve 85% of the sentence imposed by a judge.

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