"If Congress decides to exercise its power to direct sentencing policy by enacting mandatory minimum penalties, the Commission believes that such penalties should (1) not be excessively severe, (2) be narrowly tailored to apply only to those offenders who warrant such punishment, and (3) be applied consistently. Sentencing data and interviews with prosecutors and defense attorneys indicate that mandatory minimum penalties that are considered excessively severe tend to be applied inconsistently."

Source

"Executive Summary: Report to Congress: Mandatory Minimum Penalties in the Federal Criminal Justice System" United States Sentencing Comission (Washington, DC: October 2011), p. xxx.
http://www.ussc.gov/Legislati…