US mayors pass resolution opposing mandatory minimum drug sentences

As detailed in this notice, last week the "US Conference of Mayors, meeting at its annual convention in Las Vegas this week, passed a resolution opposing mandatory minimum sentences for drug crimes and called for "fair and effective" sentencing policies."  The resolution, which can be accessed here (at p. 47 of the pdf), was sponsored by Salt Lake City mayor Rocky Anderson and notes that this year marks the 20th anniversary of the establishment a the first slate of modern federal mandatory minimums for drug sentences.  The resolution's preamble states that, over the last two decades, the US prison population has increased dramatically even while mandatory minimum sentencing "has been ineffective at achieving its purported goals: reducing the level of substance abuse and crime, and increasing penalties for the most serious offenders."