Washington v. Chrisman

With its five- and ten-year minimum sentences, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1986 is a leading example of the stiff sentencing for drug offenders that became the norm during the 1980s. In 1979, New York became the first state to pass a law authorizing mandatory sentencing for drug offenders.

Nearly two decades later, however, New York and other states began to roll back the most stringent of their anti-drug measures. An example of the reason why is the case of Thomas Eddy, one of the first New Yorkers sentenced under the new laws in 1979. A National Merit Scholar attending the State University of New York at Binghamton, he was arrested for selling two ounces of cocaine. He expected to receive a few years in jail; instead, his sentence was fifteen years to life.

Not only have minor offenders such as Eddy received disproportionate punishments, but often the stiff penalties have evaded powerful drug kingpins who can trade information for reduced sentences. Prison overcrowding and other issues--not the least of which is the fact that the mandatory sentences have not significantly reduced the rate of drug-related crimes--have led Michigan, Connecticut, Oklahoma, Arizona, and a dozen other states to reconsider their minimum-sentencing guidelines.