Supreme Court Justice Urges Shorter Sentences; Justice Kennedy Wants Repeal of Mandatory Sentences after Voting That They Are Constitutional

Byline: Frank J. Murray, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Supreme Court Justice Anthony M. Kennedy last night proposed repeal of mandatory minimum sentences and mercy for those serving them, five months after he cast the deciding vote to allow California to give petty thieves 50 years to life.

"Our resources are misspent, our punishments too severe, our sentences too long," Justice Kennedy said in San Francisco, where he delivered the keynote speech of the American Bar Association's annual meeting.

"It is a grave mistake to retain a policy just because a court finds it constitutional," he said in an obvious reference to the court's March 5 ruling upholding the California "three strikes" law requiring a minimum of 25 years …

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Publication information: Article title: Supreme Court Justice Urges Shorter Sentences; Justice Kennedy Wants Repeal of Mandatory Sentences after Voting That They Are Constitutional. Contributors: Not available. Newspaper title: The Washington Times (Washington, DC). Publication date: August 10, 2003. Page number: A01. © 2009 The Washington Times LLC. COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group.

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