So there is a breaking point after all.
On Monday, the nation's chief law enforcement officer came out in favor of undoing mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders.
A mandatory minimum sentence is exactly what it sounds like. If a defendant is found guilty of possessing a certain amount of drugs (and yes, it's got to be quite a bit of dope) a judge must sentence him to at least five years. No parole, no questions and no judicial discretion.
That's just for first-time offenders. Those with prior drug felonies face 10 years to life.
Meanwhile, 1.53 million people in the U.S. were arrested for non-violent drug offenses in 2011. And ultimately, one in 100 adults is behind bars, the highest incarceration rate in the world.
In Illinois, about 38,000 people are arrested on drug charges each year.
Opponents of mandatory minimums argue that the explosion in the country's prison population during the past 30 years is a direct result of what they call "draconian" drug laws.
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