Advantages And Disadvantages Of Mandatory Minimum Sentencing

Mandatory Minimum Sentencing: Neglect Towards Making the Crime Fit the Penalty
As mentioned in the Canadian Criminal Code of 1985, "there are about 40 offences for which a mandatory minimum sentence of imprisonment (MMS) must be imposed" (Raaflaub, 2006). There is a growing dilemma in society today "starkly in the conflict between crime control and rights approaches to punishment" (Witten, 2017, p. 106). Mandatory minimum prison sentences are punishments that are set through legislation for specific offenses. The intent of mandatory minimum sentencing targets the ability to put those guilty of a crime behind bars; however, MMS manages to neglect a case's individual details, resulting in unfair sentencing, cost increases, and targeting of minority groups. Though mandatory minimums can be seen as a way to discourage people from offending, or reoffending, this is a very person-dependent characteristic to base
More specifically, these groups are inclusive of Aboriginal persons, African-Canadians, members of other racialized groups, women, persons with mental disabilities, and others. MMS laws can infringe s. 15 through disparate impact on vulnerable groups either because they affect those groups in a manner disproportionate to their population, or because those groups will feel particularly harsh effects emanating from those laws. This, in turn, greatly promotes a culture of fear, low self-esteem, and distrust of authorities among these varying