| In Mexico, Minimum Sentences for Drug Crimes Are Greater Than Those for Homicide The Fix | |
| go to original April 12, 2013 |
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In many Latin American countries, nonviolent drug offenses are punished with much harsher sentences than many violent crimes, like murder or rape. Penalties for drug crimes are examined in a report, Addicted to Punishment, by law research center Dejusticia.
The report examines Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico, Colombia, Bolivia, and Argentina - and finds that drug penalties have increased in severity by 521% since 1950, when the average jail time for a drug-related offense was about 34 years. Today, these offenses carry an average maximum sentence of 141 years. In Ecuador, Bolivia and Mexico, even the minimum sentences for drug crimes are greater than those for homicide.
And in all seven countries, drug trafficking can land an offender in jail for twice as long as rape - up to 88% more time in Peru.
Read the rest at The Fix
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