CONCORD, N.H. - The ACLU of New Hampshire today released a statement condemning the New Hampshire House of Representatives’ vote to move forward SB14, a bill that would subject Granite Staters to “mandatory minimum sentences” for certain charges of fentanyl possession. Research shows that mandatory minimum sentences can have devastating consequences for peoples’ lives, have no impact on public safety, and are expensive to taxpayers.
Amanda Azad, Policy Director at the ACLU of New Hampshire, said:
- “We cannot incarcerate our way out of the opioid epidemic in New Hampshire, especially by using outdated, unjust, and expensive mandatory minimum sentences, which would not make Granite Staters safer and drive up prison populations and costs for taxpayers.
“Decades of research shows that mandatory minimum laws are an all-around failed policy idea that does not make communities any safer and directly contributes to the festering crisis of mass incarceration, cruel and unjust outcomes, and racial disparities in sentencing.
“New Hampshire is just starting the long process of replacing the state prison due its poor and inhumane conditions of the current complex, which dates back to the 1800s and has severe structural issues and other major health and safety concerns. Our lawmakers should focus on providing humane and safe conditions and programming instead of passing legislation which will further fuel funding issues by incarcerating more people in our state for longer and longer periods of time.
“We urge all lawmakers to oppose this draconian bill as it continues through the legislative process and for Governor Ayotte to issue a veto if it reaches her desk.”
Additional resources and studies on the undesirable and contradictory effects of mandatory minimum sentencing laws are below:
- Florida experienced a 50-percent spike in crime after enacting mandatory minimums.
- Mandatory Minimums, Crime, and Drug Abuse: Lessons Learned, Paths Ahead by Greg Newburn and Sal Nuzzo of the James Madison Institute: https://www.jamesmadison.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/PolicyBrief_MandatoryMinimums_Feb2019_v04.pdf
- Mandatory Minimums, Crime, and Drug Abuse: Lessons Learned, Paths Ahead by Greg Newburn and Sal Nuzzo of the James Madison Institute: https://www.jamesmadison.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/PolicyBrief_MandatoryMinimums_Feb2019_v04.pdf
- A 50-state study found no significant relationship between prison terms and three key drug epidemic indicators: illicit drug use, drug arrests, and overdose rates. Instead, the study emphasized that longer sentences are a huge taxpayer burden with “no convincing public safety return” for those taxpayers and communities.
- Pew Charitable Trusts, More Imprisonment Does Not Reduce State Drug Problems, (March 8, 2018): https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2018/03/more-imprisonment-does-not-reduce-state-drug-problems.
- Pew Charitable Trusts, More Imprisonment Does Not Reduce State Drug Problems, (March 8, 2018): https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2018/03/more-imprisonment-does-not-reduce-state-drug-problems.
- There is no empirical evidence that drug-induced homicide laws reduce overdose rates. In fact, analyses of drug-induced homicide practices in jurisdictions in New Jersey, Tennessee, North Carolina, Illinois, Louisiana, and New York found that despite dramatic growth in drug-induced homicide prosecutions, all of the jurisdictions experienced significant increases in overdose deaths, ranging from 7.6% to 20.1% in a single year.
- Fair and Justice Prosecution, Drug-Induced Homicides, (2022) available at https://fairandjustprosecution.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/FJP-Drug-Induced-Homicide-Brief.pdf.