It’s time we got rid of mandatory sentences, starting with the death sentence.THERE’S one thing terribly wrong with mandatory sentences – it takes away the discretion of judges to, well, judiciously weigh the gravity of the offence before imposing punishment.

They can’t consider the circumstances under which it was committed, take into account mitigating circumstances or see whether the public good will be better served by meting out a lighter or heavier sentence, to mention but just a few factors they should consider.

Instead, mandatory sentencing requires judges to mete out a prescribed minimum punishment, no matter what, if a person is found guilty of an offence under a certain law.

To illustrate, if the police found a bullet in your house and then charged you under the appropriate law, you would get the death sentence if you were found guilty. Ditto if you have more than a certain amount of marijuana in your possession.