Mandatory Minimums

Nearly 120 PSJ members and concerned Oregonians came together on Saturday, April 5th for our first Statewide Annual Gathering which was a resounding success! The day was devoted to providing the information and tools necessary to defeat the mandatory minimum measure that will be on Oregon’s ballot in November.

The fight to stop Kevin Mannix’s proposed new mandatory minimum sentences just took a step forward but also got much more complicated.The February legislative session ended late Friday night and on the last day they referred a measure to the November ballot challenging Mannix’s property crime measure. The legislative measure, which has yet to be given an official number for the ballot, has a superseding clause which means it cancels out Mannix's Mandatory Minimum Measure if it gets more votes. This summary lays out the differences between Mannix's Mandatory Minimum Measure and the legislative measure.

A new initiative that would create mandatory sentences for drug and property crimes will translate into three new prisons and 4,000 to 6,000 more Oregonians in prison if it passes.

Two recent developments may finally signal the end of the vast difference between sentences for crack cocaine and powder cocaine. The inequities in sentences for crack cocaine vs. powder cocaine offenses, and the significant racial disparities in the prison population they generate, are again gaining national attention this summer.

Progress in changing the way youth are treated as adults within the criminal justice system.