Among drug incarcerations, mandatories of 5+ years account for only 8% of person-years sentenced.

Only 8% of all committed time for drug offenses in Fiscal 2013 (calculated as person-years) was for sentences longer than 5 years. 56% of committed time is in shorter sentences at the state prison level. 35% of committed time is at the house of corrections level where all sentences are under 2.5 years.

In thinking about the consequences of repealing mandatory minimums, it is important to recognize that the longest sentences, the 12 year penalties (formerly 15 year penalties) where the greatest injustices can theoretically occur, are rare. In fact, there were only one two sentences at that level in all of FY13 and only 22 sentences at the next level down. The most common sentence to state prison was for distribution of cocaine which carries a one year minimum. The average sentence imposed on that charge was 3 years, so clearly, in most cases, there was a plea bargain from a more serious mandatory minimum.

In the typical state prison drug case, the negotiation among the court, prosecutor and defense counsel is about a sentence under 5 years in length. Of 482 commitments to state prison in Fiscal 2013, 351 were for charges as to which the mean maximum sentence imposed was under 5 years. And, of course, all of the 1,830 commitments to the houses of corrections, many of which were non-mandatories, but likely broken down from mandatory charges, were for sentences under 2.5 years. The likely outcome change resulting from shifting power from the prosecutor to the sentencing judge by repealing mandatory minimums is therefore more limited than one might infer from the most egregious examples.

The computation in the pie-chart weights state prison sentences more heavily than House sentences because it uses the maximum sentence in computing person-years committed.

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Fiscal 2013 Drug Commitments to State Prison and Houses of Corrections

Level	Group (current law)	Mandatory Years	Governing Offense	SP # Committed	SP Mean Min Months	SP Mean Max Months	House # Committed	House Mean Months	SP Min Person Years	SP Max Person Years	House Person Years
8	Mandatory 5+	12	Traffic Cocaine 200+	2	162	162	0		27	27	0
8	Mandatory 5+	12	Traffic Heroine 200+	0			0		0	0	0
7	Mandatory 5+	7 (old range)	Traffic Heroin 028-100	11	90.5	103.7	0		83	95	0
7	Mandatory 5+	8	Traffic Cocaine 100-200	11	124.4	144	0		114	132	0
7	Mandatory 5+	8	Traffic Heroin 100-200	1	144	144	0		12	12	0
7	Mandatory 5+	5	Traffic Heroin 036-100	4	66	75	0		22	25	0
6	Mandatory <5	5 (old range)	Traffic Cocaine 028-100	40	74.9	86.7	0		250	289	0
6	Mandatory <5	5 (old range)	Traffic Heroin 014-028	25	69.6	80.7	0		145	168	0
6	Mandatory <5	3.5	Distribute Class A 2nd	17	57.5	64.6	0		82	92	0
6	Mandatory <5	3.5	Distribute Cocaine 2nd	15	55.2	63.2	0		69	79	0
6	Mandatory <5	3.5	Traffic Cocaine 036-100	3	52	66	0		13	17	0
5	Mandatory <5	3 (old range)	Traffic Cocaine 014-028	68	46.7	54	0		265	306	0
5	Mandatory <5	3.5	Traffic Heroin 018-036	2	48	60	0		8	10	0
5	Mandatory <5	2	Distribute Class B 2nd	16	40.9	43.9	0		55	59	0
5	Mandatory <5	2	Traffic Cocaine 018-036	7	35.1	35.1	0		20	20	0
4	Mandatory <5	1	Traffic Mar 50-100	0			2	18	0	0	3
4	Mandatory <5	2	Control Substance School	6	29	34	69	24.3	15	17	140
4	Mandatory <5	1	Distribute Cocaine	95	35.7	42.4	55	20.8	283	336	95
4	Non-Mandatory		Distribute Class A	80	33.2	40.3	314	11.4	221	268	300
4	Non-Mandatory		Distribute Class B	63	30.8	37.6	366	10.4	162	197	317
4	Non-Mandatory		Giving Prisoner Cont Sub	4	21	24	4	5.8	7	8	2
4	Non-Mandatory		Larceny Cont Sub	1	24	48	1	0.3	2	4	0
3	Mandatory <5	2	Possession Class A Heroin 2nd	0			5	8.4	0	0	4
3	Non-Mandatory		Distribute Class C	0			20	6.2	0	0	10
3	Mandatory <5		Distribute Class D 2nd	0			2	12	0	0	2
3	Non-Mandatory		Possession Class A 2nd	0			8	5.9	0	0	4
3	Non-Mandatory		Possession Class B 2nd	0			17	8.8	0	0	12
3	Non-Mandatory		Possession Class D 2nd	0			0		0	0	0
3	Non-Mandatory		Possession Hypodermic 2nd	0			1	2	0	0	0
2	Non-Mandatory		Distribute Class D	0			118	6.2	0	0	61
2	Non-Mandatory		Distribute Class E	0			16	5.2	0	0	7
2	Non-Mandatory		Distribute Counterfeit Substance	0			6	4.6	0	0	2
2	Non-Mandatory		Distribute Paraphenalia	0			0		0	0	0
2	Non-Mandatory		Forge Prescription	0			19	4.8	0	0	8
2	Non-Mandatory		Possession Class A	0			221	3.5	0	0	64
2	Non-Mandatory		Possession Class A Heroin	0			95	4.3	0	0	34
2	Non-Mandatory		Possession Class B	0			344	3.9	0	0	111
2	Non-Mandatory		Possession Class C	0			44	3.2	0	0	12
2	Non-Mandatory		Possession Class D	0			12	3.2	0	0	3
2	Non-Mandatory		Possession Hypodermic/Syringe	0			0		0	0	0
2	Non-Mandatory		Presence Class A	0			13	4.1	0	0	4
1	Non-Mandatory		Possession Class D Marijuana	0			4	3.6	0	0	1
1	Non-Mandatory		Possession Class E	0			52	2.6	0	0	11
0	Non-Mandatory		Conspiracy Violate CSA	11	42.5	48.6	22	6.5	39	45	12

Source: Derived from Tables 44-46 in Fiscal 2013 Survey of Sentencing Practices. The Sentencing Commission provided these tables in electronic form.