Not all crimes are equal.
No two defendants are the same.
Most judges who actually hear cases 
Congress, from its back seat in Washington, apparently does not.
Federal lawmakers over the years have taken a one-size-fits-all approach to sentencing, preventing judges from considering the circumstances of each individual case when meting out punishment.
Mandatory minimum sentencing laws have contributed to an exploding federal inmate population – up 55 percent since 2000 – and a ballooning prison budget – up nearly $2 billion in the past five years. There’s also the matter of punishments that don’t fit the crimes.
An unlikely duo of legislators is taking on the issue, however.
Sens. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, and Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, have introduced the Justice Safety Valve Act of 2013. It would expand the discretion federal judges now have to sentence below mandatory minimum guidelines in certain drug cases to all federal crimes. The House is considering a similar bill.
“As a former prosecutor, I understand that criminals must be held accountable, and that long sentences are sometimes necessary to keep violent criminals off the street and deter those who would commit violent crime,” Leahy said in a statement. “I have come to believe, however, that mandatory minimum sentences do more harm than good. As Justice (Anthony) Kennedy said, ‘In too many cases, mandatory minimum sentences are unwise and unjust.’”
In other words, justice should be blind – but not dumb.