Mandatory Sentencing

A mandatory sentence is one where judicial discretion is limited by law; those convicted of certain crimes must be punished with at least a minimum number of years in prison. The most famous example of mandatory sentencing is the ‘three strikes and you’re out’ policy adopted first in California in 1994, and now more widespread in the USA (see separate debate on this particular issue). "Three strikes" laws require life imprisonment for a third criminal conviction, but other forms of mandatory sentencing are now being discussed and implemented in various countries. The British Home Secretary Michael Howard implemented a three strike policy in Britain in the mid 1990s, implementing a mandatory minimum three year sentence for a third conviction of burglary. Australia’s Northern Territory in 1997 introduced mandatory sentences of one month to one year for the third offense regarding property and theft. In the USA possession of more than a small amount of a drug is punished by a mandatory harsh sentence. Mandatory life imprisonment has also been proposed in the US Congress for a second sexual offense against children. And at the time of writing (January 2003), the British government is proposing a mandatory five year minimum prison sentence for anyone convicted of carrying a firearm illegally. In addition to these mandatory prison terms, some countries employ a system of ‘mandatory restorative justice’, whereby the criminal has to apologize to the victim, rather than one of imprisonment.