HILLARY CLINTON

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514 Tenth St. NW, Suite 1000, Washington, DC 20004 % Tel. 202.628.0871 " Fax 202.628.1091 " www.sentencingproject.org H ILLARY C LINTON Mandatory minimum sentences " cI think there is a role for mandatory minimums for violent crimes, but we have applied them far too broadly and in ways that are simply unfair to minority offenders.

We need to punish illegal conduct without imposing unfair penalties that are simply out of balance with the crime. That 9s why the Clinton administration created a safety valve to give judges discretion for non-violent, first-time offenders. In addition to things like the safety valve, I 9ve supported drug courts as a way to help non-violent offenders get back on the right path while confronting the consequences of their actions.

We also need to eliminate the disparity between sentencing for crack and for powder cocaine violations. d NAACP 2008 Presidential Candidate Civil Rights Questionnaire (http://www.naacp.org/news/press/2008-02-01/RESPONSES.Clinton_Obama.pdf) " cWe have to go after mandatory minimums. You know, mandatory sentences for certain violent crimes may be appropriate, but it has been too widely used. And it is using now a discriminatory impact. d Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University, June 28, 2007 (http://www.cfr.org/publication/13699/democratic_debate_transcript_washington_dc.html) " cClinton has also questioned Obama's proposal ... more. less.

to scrap some of the more than 170 federal mandatory-minimum laws, which require judges to impose specified prison sentences, most commonly for drug crimes. d cWhere candidates stand on crime, death penalty, d Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, February 10, 2008 (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/10/INU0UTBQK.DTL) B ARACK O BAMA Mandatory minimum sentences " cA RAND study found that mandatory minimum sentences are less effective than discretionary sentencing and drug treatment in reducing drug-related crime, and every leading expert body in criminal justice has opposed the use of mandatory minimum sentences& I will immediately review these sentences to see where we can be smarter on crime and reduce the ineffective warehousing of nonviolent drug offenders. d NAACP 2008 Presidential Candidate Civil Rights Questionnaire (http://www.naacp.org/news/press/2008-02-01/RESPONSES.Clinton_Obama.pdf) " cIn an October 2003 NAACP debate, Mr.<br><br> Obama said he would 8vote to abolish 9 mandatory minimum sentences. 8The mandatory minimums take too much discretion away from judges, 9 he said. Mr.<br><br> Obama now says on his Web site, www.barackobama.com, that he would 8immediately review sentences to see where we can be smarter on crime and reduce the ineffective warehousing of nonviolent drug offenders. 9" cObama 904 at odds with Obama 908, d Jen Haberkorn, Washington Times, February 1, 2008 (http://www.washingtontimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080201/NATION/43529865/1 001) " cClinton has also questioned Obama's proposal to scrap some of the more than 170 federal mandatory-minimum laws, which require judges to impose specified prison sentences, most commonly for drug crimes. d cWhere candidates stand on crime, death penalty, d Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, February 10, 2008 ( http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/02/10/INU0UTBQK.DTL )

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