Mandatory minimum sentences and the wave of mass incarceration that followed, coupled with drastic cuts to mental health care services, have had far-reaching and dire social consequences both in the UK and around the world. Much has been written and said about this elsewhere by people far more expert than me; I will just say that we imprison far too many people, essentially to feed the public appetite for punishment, when only a small percentage of them are too cruel or risky to rehabilitate in the community.
