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If Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr.鈥檚 call for new mandatory minimum sentences for repeat violent offenders fails to generate fresh traction in Annapolis, it will primarily be because many lawmakers trust judges more than prosecutors 鈥� or politicians.
Late last week, in the wake of another wave of highly-publicized crimes 鈥� including the shooting of a police sergeant in Baltimore City 鈥� Hogan (R) took to social media to condemn the violence and urge action.
鈥淭his senseless violence must stop,鈥� he said on Twitter.
鈥淲e鈥檙e talking about taking our communities back and saving lives鈥攖he time has come for us to take a stand together. I am calling on city and legislative leaders to support our legislation to impose tougher mandatory sentences for those who repeatedly commit violent crimes with guns,鈥� he wrote.
Hogan鈥檚 press office followed up on Saturday with details of what he wants: a minimum sentence of five years in prison for a person who commits a first violent crime with a firearm, with 10 years behind bars for a second or subsequent offense.
The proposal , The Repeat Firearms Offender Act of 2019. The measure had a hearing in each chamber, but lawmakers never voted on it.
Hogan鈥檚 new push is not likely to fare much better.
鈥淭he science and the research is really inconclusive about whether [mandatory minimum sentences] deter crime 鈥� and that鈥檚 what we all want,鈥� said Del. Shelly L. Hettleman (D-Baltimore County).
Like many of the current and former officials interviewed over the weekend, Hettleman said mandatory minimums weaken the ability of judges to weigh each case on its merits.
鈥淏y taking discretion out of the hands of judges, they hope to eliminate disparities in sentencing,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut what they really do is shift discretion from the judges to prosecutors.鈥�
In Baltimore and elsewhere, prosecutors have wide discretion in which charges they file. And lawmakers from both parties said they are often influenced by the presence of mandatory minimum sentence laws.
Del. Nick J. Mosby (D-Baltimore City), who opposes mandatory minimums, said high-crime communities need greater investment in education, job opportunities and police reform 鈥� 鈥渘ot this 鈥榯ough-on-crime鈥� approach.鈥�
鈥淚f we鈥檙e serious about driving down crime, particularly in places like Baltimore City, we鈥檒l be serious about breaking up concentrated pockets of poverty,鈥� he said.
Mosby noted that the legislature passed a bill, with bipartisan support, in 2018 to require new mandatory minimum sentences for certain offenses, yet Baltimore City continues to see massive bloodshed.
They 鈥渃learly have not worked,鈥� he said of the new sanctions. 鈥淭hey frankly have failed miserably.鈥�
According to the legislative analysis of Hogan鈥檚 2019 bill, new inmates cost the state $895 per month, excluding overhead ($3,800 per month including overhead).
Sen. Michael J. Hough (R-Frederick & Carroll), a member of the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee, said mandatory minimum sentences tend to work in places where prosecutors adopt a tougher stance on crime, but not in places like Baltimore City.
鈥淲e pass them, but they don鈥檛 use them,鈥� he said, a reference to the city鈥檚 locally-elected prosecutors.
Hough said he intends to introduce a measure in 2020 to close a 鈥渉ole鈥� in existing law on gun crimes.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to go back to mandatory minimums for drug trafficking,鈥� he said, echoing a view held by many Democratic lawmakers. 鈥淚 think that was not a good policy.鈥�
鈥淏ut if somebody is using a firearm in commission of a violent act, those are the kinds of people that deserve prison time,鈥� Hough added.
Polling over the last decade has shown a sharp decrease in support for mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes. Research on their use in crimes of violence has drawn mixed conclusions.
According to the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine, 鈥淐ommunity-based programs and focused policing interventions in general have been found to be effective in reducing violence in some settings (e.g., high-risk physical locations) and appear to be more effective than prosecutorial policies, including mandatory sentences鈥� their report concludes.
Former state attorney general Douglas F. Gansler (D), who served as a federal prosecutor before entering politics, said there is 鈥渙ne mandatory minimum that we ought to have. A convicted felon who uses a gun in the commission of a subsequent offense should be given a five-year mandatory minimum,鈥� the standard in the federal system.
鈥淚f you鈥檙e against that proposition, then you have no right to complain about violent crime or murder in Baltimore,鈥� he added, 鈥渂ecause that is precisely the person who needs to be removed from the streets.鈥�
But Gansler, who served two terms as Montgomery County state鈥檚 attorney and two terms as state AG before running for governor in 2014, sees the flip side of the argument as well.
鈥淭he biggest problem with mandatory minimums in general is that you鈥檙e taking the discretion away from the judge to appropriately match the criminal and his or her history with the crime that he or she just committed.鈥�
鈥淓very criminal is different and every crime is different,鈥� Gansler said, 鈥渟o there鈥檚 a premium that鈥檚 placed on judicial discretion 鈥� and rightfully so.鈥�
