Mandatory Death Sentences for Cop Killers: A Dangerous Shortcut Around Justice When a police officer is killed in the line of duty, it’s a tragedy. No question about it. But the push for mandatory death sentences for cop killers isn’t about justice—it’s about rewriting the judicial process to serve one class of people over another . Let’s be clear: Justice isn’t about who the victim is. It’s about the facts of the case, the intent, the circumstances, and the principles of due process . The moment we start carving out special exceptions for specific groups , we chip away at the idea that our legal system treats everyone equally. The Problem with Mandatory Sentencing Mandatory sentencing laws remove judicial discretion —the ability for judges and juries to weigh the circumstances and hand down a sentence that fits the crime. It turns justice into an assembly line instead of a careful examination of the facts. A mandatory death penalty for cop killers creates two major issues: I...