Montco, Delco DA's Call For Restoration Of Controversial Mandatory Minimums

NORRISTOWN, PA -- District Attorneys in Montgomery, Delaware, and Berks counties are calling for a restoration of the controversial mandatory minimum sentences for violent offenders, according to an announcement made on Thursday.

Montgomery County DA Kevin Steele, along with Delco DA John Whelan and local law enforcement agencies are urging legislators to take action on the issue. They will convene a press conference on Friday to expand on the issue.

There is a currently a bill in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, H.B. 741, which would restore the minimums. It's sponsored by Hatboro area State Rep. Todd Stephens.

Mandatory minimums are a controversial subject in the Keystone State. They were originally struck down in 2015 by the state's Supreme Court, which found them unconstitutional.

John Wetzel, the current Pennsylvania Secretary of Corrections, in an advocate of criminal justice reform and is among the leaders of the fight against the minimums. He has repeatedly said that the harsher penalties do not decrease recidivism, or repeat offenders, and that the focus should be to ensure ex-cons can get jobs and go to school.

The introduction to Rep. Stephens' bill reads as follows:

"An Act amending Titles 18 (Crimes and Offenses) and 42 (Judiciary and Judicial Procedure) of the Pennsylvania Consolidated Statutes, in minors, further providing for sentencing and penalties for trafficking drugs to minors and for drug-free school zones; in other offenses, further providing for drug trafficking sentencing and penalties; and, in sentencing, further providing for sentences for offenses committed with firearms, for sentences for certain drug offenses committed with firearms, for sentences for offenses committed on public transportation, for sentences for offenses against elderly persons, for sentences for offenses against infant persons, for sentence for failure to comply with registration of sexual offenders and for sentences for offenses committed while impersonating a law enforcement officer."

The bill was referred to the judiciary on March 7 and introduced on the floor of the House on Tuesday.

To read the full text, see here.