[20041217]RS21597_联邦强制性最低量刑法规：第108届国会的立法提案.pdf

Congressional Research Service The Library of CongressCRS Report for CongressReceived through the CRS WebOrder Code RS21597Updated December 17, 2004Federal Mandatory Minimum SentencingStatutes: Legislative Proposals in the 108thCongressname redactedSenior SpecialistAmerican Law DivisionSummaryFederal mandatory minimum sentencing statutes (mandatory minimums) demandthat execution or incarceration follow criminal conviction. They cover drug dealing,murdering federal officials, and using a gun to commit a federal crime. Theycircumscribe judicial sentencing discretion. They have been criticized as unthinkinglyharsh and incompatible with a rational sentencing guideline system; yet they have alsobeen embraced as hallmarks of truth in sentence and a certain means of incapacitatingthe criminally dangerous. Mandatory minimum sentences are not unconstitutional perse, although on rare occasions individual sentences may violate the Eighth Amendmentproscription on grossly disproportionate punishments. The 108th Congress appeared toovercome recent past reluctance and enacted a flurry of new or enhanced mandatoryminimum sentencing provisions. The PROTECT Act (sometimes known as the AmberAlert Act