In 2011 my son at, 20 years old, was sentenced to a mandatory life sentence after being convicted of 1st degree murder. At the time of his conviction, he left behind 8 younger siblings and a 3 year old son. This was his first offense.

 Though I do not condone the crime, I felt it was my responsibility as a mother, to learn the facts of his particular situation. After speaking with him, (years after he was sentenced) I learned that my son feared for his life, as the victim had put out numerous threats, to the extent that he (the victim) went to a relative (an associate of my son) in an attempt to procure a weapon for the deed. While my son had no right to take the law into his own hands, he at the time, felt he had no other choice. 

I’m sharing all of this to say that while my son needed to pay for his crime, a natural life sentence is extremely harsh, given he had no prior history. Delaware has a mandatory minimum of natural life if convicted of 1st degree. And while this is probably the most severe, there are other mandatory minimums that are equally unjust compared to the crime and given circumstances. There has to be a medium between being soft on crime and allowing a person a real chance of rehabilitation and a second chance at life. My son meant so much to our family and is really needed in the raising of his own son.

Because every circumstance is different, mandatory minimums have no place in our justice system. DELAWARE is in need of justice reform. Mandatory minimums do not allow for individual circumstances to be considered and in some cases, are excessive and do not allow for the true rehabilitation of a person who makes a mistake.