Michigan legislature repeals mandatory sentencing laws

On December 12, 2002 a bipartisan majority in the Michigan Senate voted in favor of three reform bills - HB 5394, HB 5395, and HB 6510 - that "eliminate most of the state's Draconian mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenses," according to a news release from Families Against Mandatory Minimums (FAMM). The passage of these three bills "allows judges to impose sentences based on a range of factors in each case, rather than drug weight only, and replaces lifetime probation for the lowest-level offenders with a five-year probationary period."

Rep. Bill McConico (D-Detroit) sponsored the bills. "This major step brings fairness back to the judicial system in Michigan. We were able to unite Republicans, Democrats, prosecutors, judges and families in the common cause of sentencing justice. Now we can reunite families, reallocate resources and allow judges to do their job," said a jubilant McConico. Diverse professional groups - including the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, the Michigan Catholic Conference, Michigan's Children, and the Michigan Association of Drug Court Professionals - supported the bills.

The reforms not only allow for increased judicial discretion at sentencing but also bring back parole for some prisoners. Criminal justice professionals, including judges and prosecutors, hailed the new reforms as the return of a "responsible" approach that properly fits a sentence to the crime and which now will allow judges and drug court professionals a creative, cost-effective latitude in designing sentences.

"Michigan's prosecutors recognize that an effective drug policy is a combination of criminal justice strategies, readily available drug treatment programs, incarceration where appropriate, and prevention activities in schools, businesses and homes," said a supportive David Morse, president of the Prosecuting Attorneys Association of Michigan. Former Michigan Governor William G. Milliken campaigned for the repeal of mandatory minimum laws, calling his 1978 signing of their enabling legislation the "worst mistake of my career" in office.

While being hailed for the victory, FAMM's Executive Director Laura Sager gave credit elsewhere, "Today is the culmination of years of grassroots lobbying efforts by thousands of our members affected by mandatory minimums that were among the harshest in the nation. These families brought the human face of sentencing injustices to lawmakers and convinced members of both parties that change was urgently needed."

Particular credit for this 'grassroots lobby' effort should also go to the National Lawyers Guild of Michigan, the Drug Policy Forum of Michigan, U of M Students for Sensible Drug Policy and Detroit's Coalition for Compassionate Care for doing what it takes at every step of the way to build popular support for legislation that serves people.

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