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There are pros and cons to both, and I doubt that there is no perfect way that will satisfy 100% of the people 100% of the time.
Judges used to have a lot more discretion. But the common complaint was they they were too lenient and criminals got off too soon. The people clamored for tougher sentences, and the "tough on crime" movement was born. Passing more laws and passing increased sentences and passing "mandatory minimum" became (and still is to some degree) all the rage and proved to be an almost guaranteed re-election stance.
Fast forward many years and many of those issues have been solved, only to be replaced with new issues... overly draconian sentences that are way out of proportion to the crime. And we don't like those, either, and for good reason. Now there's a move to dial back mandatory minimums, which I advocate. Personally, I'm fine with minimum sentences, but not decades for minor crap.
Anyway, as far as this goes, we need to decide what we want. Do we want "blind justice" where all guilty people are tossed into a meat grinder of a system and accept the collateral damage? Or, do we want a system based more on the individual circumstances, knowing that some will fall through the cracks?
We say we want the best of both, but we can't have the best of both. Humans aren't that good. We need to make a choice.
They absolutely were too lenient, and parole boards were even worse. Hence, enter "Aimees's Law."
Santorum introduced Aimee’s Law in March 1999. Aimee's Law was prompted by the tragic death of college senior Aimee Willard from Brookhaven, Pennsylvania near Philadelphia. Arthur Bomar, a convicted murderer, was early paroled from a Nevada prison. Even after he assaulted a woman in prison, Nevada released him early. Bomar traveled to Pennsylvania where he found Aimee. He kidnapped, brutally raped and murdered Aimee. He was prosecuted a second time for murder for committing this heinous crime in Delaware County, PA. Aimee's mother, Gail Willard, has become a tireless advocate for victims' rights and serves as an inspiration to all who have the privilege of coming in contact with her.
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