Obviously More Gun Laws Are Needed

[xd ED]

Over 40% of convicted gun crimes don’t get mandatory minimum sentence - AlphaNews

According to a report from the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines Commission (MSGC), the number of felony cases in which a gun was allegedly used or possessed has risen sharply in recent years....
...For context, there were 1,074 similar occurrences in fiscal year 2021. That number was 1,116 in FY 2017, 865 in FY 2012, and 636 in FY 2008. When this metric was first reported for FY 1996, the number was 588.

Additionally, the MSGC’s report states that defendants were charged in 96% of the 1,805 felony cases that occurred in FY 2023. Of those, roughly two-thirds received a conviction of some kind. In the remaining cases, charges were either dismissed, the defendant was acquitted, or a different outcome was reached.

Stunningly, in cases where there was a conviction and firearm use or possession was established, 43% of the defendants were not sentenced to the mandatory minimum, according to the report. Of the total 1,805 cases, just 30% ended in a mandatory minimum sentence being imposed and executed....

...Hennepin County’s outsized share of this metric comes on the heels of significant backlash to the policies and decisions of Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, who took office halfway through fiscal year 2023.

Running on a platform of “ending the cycles of mass incarceration” and shielding illegal immigrants from deportation, Moriarty won the 2022 election for Hennepin County attorney. Since then, her term in office has engendered public outrage due to her lenient criminal sentences and refusal to prosecute crime.

Of the 773 felony cases in Hennepin County that allegedly involved a firearm, only 28.7% saw a mandatory minimum sentence imposed and carried out. Of those who were convicted, about 48% did not get a mandatory minimum sentence.

[daleamn]

The word 'frustration' doesn't even BEGIN to cover what normal everyday people feel when they see stats like this.

I don't know how to explain how this has happened in our society.

Years and years ago science fiction writer Robert Heinlein wrote some short stories where he put forth the idea of the 'crazy years' where in human history we cycle through a period where common sense seems to go out the window. I can't remember the names of the short stories or even if 'crazy years' was the exact term he used but even if it isn't his exact term it's close and describes things pretty well.

[jdege]

Years and years ago science fiction writer Robert Heinlein wrote some short stories where he put forth the idea of the 'crazy years' where in human history we cycle through a period where common sense seems to go out the window. I can't remember the names of the short stories or even if 'crazy years' was the exact term he used but even if it isn't his exact term it's close and describes things pretty well.

Heinlein's hero avoided the Crazy Years by working as a bouncer/bartender in a brothel on Mars. I'm afraid that's not an option for us.