Yes, correct, but that's not what the populace wanted at the time. Despite the fact that weakening that by definition is weakening the justice systems ability to mete out real, actual justice.
Not really, your punishment should fit the crime and therefore be related exactly to what you did (and the circumstances in which you did it) - and definitely not based on which member of the judiciary you are randomly assigned.
So yes, whilst judges are supposed to have lots of discretion- there should also be oversight to ensure they're somewhat aligned with each other.
Mandatory minimums are a populist solution to headlines about setencing.
