Dirk Chase Eldredge

In the following viewpoint, Dirk Chase Eldredge asserts that mandatory minimum sentences for drug possession have failed to reduce drug use and are an affront to judicial discretion. He argues that these laws have prevented judges from determining sentences based on the age and previous criminal record of defendants. As a result, Eldredge contends, the American legal system treats murderers and other criminals more leniently than people who have been convicted of growing or possessing marijuana. Eldredge is the author of Ending the War on Drugs: A Solution for America, the source of the following viewpoint.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. By 1993, how many states had passed mandatory minimum sentencing laws?
2. Why does Eldredge claim that mandatory minimum sentences lead to “grotesque inconsistencies”?
3. According to the author, how did fifty...