“It’s no secret that our nation’s prisons are overcrowded and failing to keep our communities safe. Compared to peer nations around the globe, no country has more of its population behind bars… The reasons for our prison overcrowding are many, but one factor has been the tough “mandatory-minimum” sentencing laws that were enacted in the 1990s. The intent behind these laws was good — to bring consistency to sentencing. At the time, judges were given wide discretion in sentencing criteria, which led to some disparities in sentences for similar crimes.”