“Mandatory Minimum Sentencing, Crime, and Mass Incarceration: The Case of Mississippi”

The title of this post is the title of this new article authored by Mehdi Barati now available via SSRN. Here is its abstract:

The high rates of incarceration and the substantial financial and societal burdens associated with them have prompted state lawmakers to undertake measures to reduce prison populations.  Mississippi, however, has taken a somewhat different approach compared to other states.  In 2014 it passed House Bill 585, which introduced “true minimums” that require both nonviolent and violent offenders to serve a minimum of 25 and 50 percent of their sentence, respectively. This distinction makes the case of Mississippi particularly interesting, providing an opportunity to examine the impact of mandatory minimum sentencing on crime and incarceration rates.  Toward this end, this study employed both difference-in-differences and synthetic control methodologies to evaluate the effectiveness of House Bill 585.  According to the findings, the initial decline in the imprisonment rate resulting from the reforms was not sustained over time.  Moreover, House Bill 585 not only failed to effectively reduce violent crimes but was also found to be associated with an increase in property crimes in Mississippi.