[20030417]RS21347_联邦强制性最低量刑法规：第107届国会立法概述.pdf

Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21347Updated April 17, 2003Federal Mandatory Minimum SentencingStatutes: An Overview of Legislation in the107th Congressname redactedSenior SpecialistAmerican Law DivisionSummaryFederal mandatory minimum sentencing statutes (mandatory minimums) demandthat execution or incarceration follow criminal conviction. They cover drug dealing andusing a gun to commit a federal crime, among other crimes. They circumscribe judicialsentencing discretion. They have been criticized as unthinkingly harsh and incompatiblewith a rational sentencing guideline system; yet they have also been embraced ashallmarks of truth in sentencing and a certain means of incapacitating the criminallydangerous. Among the bills introduced in the 107th Congress, some would have creatednew mandatory minimums, several would have enlarged existing mandatory minimums,others would have eliminated existing mandatory minimums, and some would haveadjusted existing mandatory minimums in other ways. The only proposed mandatoryminimum enacted came in the form of a piggyback statute which extends the pre-existing