District court resists excessive piling of mandatory minimum 924(c) sentences

Thanks to this post at the Second Circuit Sentencing Blog, I discoverd a notable opinion from last month by Judge Jed Rakoff dealing with extreme mandatory minimum stacking 924(c) gun sentences.  Though the procedural posture and precise ruling US v. Ballard, 599 F. Supp. 2d 539 (S.D.N.Y. March 2, 2009), is complicated, this closing line captures the spirit of the ruling: “When the letter of the law so far departs from justice as to become the instrument of brutality, common sense should call a halt.”