Subject: Re: Elections have consequences!
There are a lot of arguments against minimum sentences. Primarily, they limit a judge's discretion in sentencing. Mandatory sentencing is worse, forcing prosecutors to convince a jury that someone needs to die.

It's not "soft on crime", though that is how the right will spin it. It's allowing a judge to judge how severe a crime is, rather than having to sentence a guy who beats his wife to death the same as a battered wife taking a cast iron skillet to the abuser's head.