Republicans in the General Assembly are making a renewed push for “mandatory minimum” sentences this year in the hopes of reducing crime in Georgia.
Such laws require judges to impose minimum sentences and often prohibit probation or other commutation of criminal sentences in an effort to deter criminal activity.
But Democratic lawmakers and independent experts question whether the mandatory-minimum approach will solve the crime problem.
The debate centers on whether tougher punishments truly deter criminal activity and, if they do not, what does.
So far this session, the state Senate has passed three bills imposing mandatory minimum sentences.
One proposal, supported by Gov. Brian Kemp and carried by his floor leader Sen. Bo Hatchett, R-Cornelia, requires judges to impose prison sentences of at least five years for those convicted of gang-recruiting activities and 10 years for those convicted of recruiting people under 17 years old.
A second bill, sponsored by Roswell Republican Sen. John Albers, imposes a minimum five-year sentence for possession of a firearm by a person convicted of a domestic violence felony.
A third, sponsored by former law-enforcement officer and Cataula Republican Sen. Randy Robertson, makes pimping and pandering (purchasing sex) a felony and requires a mandatory minimum sentence of at least one year in most cases.
Robertson acknowledged that such “tough on crime” approaches have fallen out of favor while speaking about his bill on the Senate floor this month.
“There are extreme examples of tougher sentences for all offenses throughout the country, and we have gone back and corrected that … and I would certainly hope our country has learned from that,” Robertson said. But he contended that for pimping and purchasing sex, in particular, tougher sentences will deter crime.
“We have seen a rise in crime like we have not seen in…
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