Sentencing Punishment Deterrence Retribution Rehabilitation Incapacitation 04 09 2012 Historical Sentencing Practice in the US 1850s 1970s rehabilitation indeterminate sentencing o serving time don t know when you re going to fix yourself at some point you will be fit for release reforming sentencing prior to 1970s indeterminate sentencing was the norm in every state and the federal court system a lot of discretion from both prosecutors and judges in the 1970s system came under attack emerging reform urbanization civil rights crime rate collection improving bleak picture Martinson 1974 rising crime rates o Rehab in prison does not work Challenges to indeterminate sentencing from both sides of the aisle Right Left o System allows early release of dangerous people o Offenders should serve full sentence o Function of corrections should be to isolate and punish o Rehabilitation does not work o An inmate should know exactly how much time he has o Programs attended by choice will be more effective o Crime reduction should focus on easing social and economic biases o You cant rehabilitate in prison Indeterminate sentences determinate sentences Reform Determinate sentences flat sentencing Goal o Promote greater uniformity in sanction application o Eradicate social and economic disparity found in many indeterminate sentencing systems Frankel 1972 Lawlessness in Sentencing Judges not trained to sentence Judges don t openly justify sentences Judge has too much discretion Parole itself is not good No review of sentences Frankel s Proposal Create a sentencing commission Abolish parole Sentencing guidelines Congressional oversight Judicial statement of sentencing purpose Toward determinate sentencing 1 Abolition of discretionary parole o let offenders know when they are getting out o how much time they have 2 Mandatory minimum sentences o crime specific what happened o offender specific crime history o since 1980 3 Truth in sentencing Sentencing guideline goals reduce sentencing discretion and its resulting disparity promote a more rational sentencing policy o uniformity Basic sentencing grid offense severity prior record box of intersection gives the min and max sentence the judge can give guidelines differ from state to state and the federal system diff views on what should matter most in determining sentence some states have built in consideration for prison capacity into the guidelines and some haven t differences in how much freedom judges have to depart from guidelines ranges and what reasons they can depart for some have narrower ranges than others have guidelines been effective Reduced but not eliminated disparity Departures o Downward sentence less o Upward sentence more Plea bargaining Mandatories prior of 1970s Jury nullification o this punishment is too harsh o not obey the rules that are set in place o jury says charge is unjust difficult to vote against tough sentences for criminals mandatory penalties in the 1950s o judges and juries avoid convicting of harsh sentences 1970s and 1980s Rockefeller drug laws Massachusetts s Bartley Fox Amendment o If you were caught with an unlicensed firearm you automatically get a year in prison Michigan Felony Firearms Statute o Weapon gun on you while committing another offense automatic 2 more years Sentencing analyses Prosecutors often did not file charges that carries mandatory minimums when evidence would have supported such charges Prosecutors used mandatory provisions tactically to induce guilty Mandatory penalties increased trial rates and thereby increased workloads case processing times Judges were often willing to work around and under the mandatory pleas penalties Solutions to get around mandatories Make penalties presumptive rather than mandatory Add sunset provisions providing that laws lapse and become Limit lengthy prison terms whether or not subject to mandatory presumptive after 3 5 years penalties to serious crimes Authorize correctional officials to reconsider release dates of all offenders receiving prison sentences exceeding a designated length Prisons 04 09 2012 correctional population 7 328 200 229 030 637 adult 1 in 31 adults in prison population united states prisoners Socrates via Plato Profit of punishment is two fold to become better from it rehabilitation or to be made an example to his fellows general deterrence Use prison as a general deterrent Until you can pay a fine you are incarcerated Plato s Proposal Laws serious 1 public building near a marketplace for crimes that are less 2 reform center more serious offenders but still fixable 3 isolation for the incorrigibles incurable tracing prisons Egypt 2050 1786 BC Hammurabi 1792 1750 BC Assyrian Empire 746 539 BC Roman Law Twelve Tables 451 BC Perseus imprisoned 2nd century BC o Imprisoned in a deep underground dungeon Ulpian death circa 224 o prison indeed ought to be employed for confining men not for punishing them England 1150 1550 Tower of London Henry II 1154 89 1520 jails o conditions foul comfortable o jailers charger for gentle keeping o food bedding sold to prisoners by jailors 1346 Prison workhouses European mainland Circa 1600 early 19th century Married couples as resident managers Revolved around forced labor Exception separation rather than forced labor English Prisons 18th century Debtors made up most of prisons o Stay there until your family can pay off your debt Prisoners as customers Occupied by trade or even begging John Howard 1777 The state of the prisons in England and Wales Disorder in prisons o No rules followed o Although prison is there to reform public never fully buys into o Unsanitary o Drinking and gambling Jail counterpoint to disorder from which crime springs England 1780 1865 Confinement becomes more uniform Punishment disappears from view Stigma this idea Colonial age punishment repent and confess Trial occasion to repent o Less use of execution Loss of liberty not standard price of offending o Society short on labor reluctant to imprison Post revolution against England Capital punishments are the natural offspring of monarchs Changing tides European movement 18th century o Rationalism o Equality o Individualism Environment may have an impact on human behavior Penitentiary Development New York vs Pennsylvania Correct them then Eastern state 1829 o No contact with other inmates o Solitary confinement Auburn 1816 o Together with inmates but couldn t talk Separate confinement PA model Vengeance free suffering changes lives Solitary
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