system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
I believe mandatory minimum laws have no place in society CMV

Mandatory minimum laws mean that a judge, when faced with a case that ticks certain boxes, cannot give a lesser sentence than prescribed. Essentially the sentence is given by a piece of paper, this can lead to absurd results and the judge - who's job it is to exercise discretion - is not given the freedom to choose the punishment. 
I dont believe this has any basis in law, morality or ethics and is simply a political ploy to gain votes for being "tough on crime"
gpt
Mandatory minimums (and maximums) were a legislative response to what virtually anybody would have realized was too much discretion on the part of judges. 

Judges are people, they are subject to all cognitive biases (both conscious and unconscious) that anybody else is. Mandatory sentencing guidelines were imposed when people realized that minority/poor criminals were getting double the sentence of a white/wealthy criminal for the same crime. The point of the system is to make the sentencing extremely evenhanded. 

Not every crime should have the exact same sentence, there are aggravating and mitigating factors to the level of culpability and severity of the crime. That's what all the tick boxes are for. This way, when two people live the same life and commit the same crime in the same way for the same reason, society is ensured that the law will be applied equally. Since the foundation of democracy is that we are all subject to the same laws, this makes sense. 

I think the problem that most people have with mandatory sentencing is that the prescribed sentences are too harsh, not that the judges have been robbed of their discretion. Keep in mind that in LOTS of the country, people who are wealthy/connected/etc. still get a slap on the wrist for crimes that would send a poor person to jail. The best example of this is DUI - some states have mandatory jail terms for a second or third offense and others don't. Where there is no mandatory sentence, the elite get to come in to court, say they're sorry, and walk out that day. 

Applying the law in a very even-handed way is the only way to spur change to the law or the prescribed sentence, as well. If you let half of society skate through the court system, why would they ever care whether the law was unjust? Why would they ever care if someone else was going to jail for the same crime? Mandatory sentences force ALL parts of a society to recognize defects in the law.