In addition to media frenzy surrounding the wave of violence and addiction seen as stemming from the new form of cocaine, the widely-publicized death of Len Bias, a Boston Celtics draft pick who died following an overdose in his college dormitory solidified the public outcry for action from public officials. Despite lack of scientific evidence, crack cocaine, in particular, was seen as a highly addictive drug that led to unpredictable, often violent behavior, including increased gang-related violence in urban areas. ![]() Public concern about cocaine and the emerging derivative crack (or base) cocaine (a less costly form of the drug that is smoked as opposed to inhaled) reached hysteria levels, with more than 1000 stories reported in various national newspapers and magazines in the months before the 1986 election. In the early 1980s, cocaine grew in popularity in the US, with 1.6 million new users between 19, and a four-fold increase in cocaine-related emergency department visits between 19. Still, sentencing laws continue to be used, and even broadened as means to deter illicit drug use. Furthermore, research into the association between incarceration rates and reported drug use behavior suggests that correlations are weak at best. The handful of rigorous evaluations conducted to date have focused on firearms, and have demonstrated little effect of mandatory minimum sentences on gun crimes. However, the efficacy of these laws in reducing targeted behaviors remains unclear. ![]() ![]() Mandatory minimum sentences have been used for centuries to target crimes seen as especially serious or disruptive. ” With this direction, a renewed emphasis was placed on mandatory sentences, reversing a 2013 policy that permitted prosecutors to withhold information to avoid triggering mandatory sentencing guidelines. In May 2017, US Attorney General Jeffrey Sessions sent a memorandum directing federal prosecutors that they “must disclose to the sentencing court all facts that impact the sentencing guidelines or mandatory minimum sentences.
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