NCJ Number
89531
Date Published
1980
Length
26 pages
Annotation
This study reviews current Arkansas sentencing law (indeterminate), outlines the Arkansas Attorney General's proposal for sentencing reform, and considers indeterminate and determinate sentencing in current State law.
Abstract
Most States using the indeterminate sentencing method allow the judge to impose a sentence within the minimum and maximum term allowed by law, while a parole board later determines a release date. The intent of indeterminate sentencing is to tailor the punishment to the crime so as to rehabilitate the offender. Since the early 1970's, 13 States have reexamined their correction goals and determined that certainty of punishment, along with equity and fairness, are primary sentencing goals, and they have enacted determinate sentencing laws consistent with these goals. Determinate sentencing is designed to narrow judicial discretion in sentencing to ensure that specific punishments are applied for particular crimes. Determinate sentencing laws tend to differ in their treatment of sentencing structure, firearm use, repeat offenders, sentencing authority, sentence review, parole decisionmaking and review, and 'good time.' Current Arkansas law mandates indeterminate sentencing, but the attorney general is recommending changes in both the sentence structure and parole eligibility laws. He is proposing narrower limits on fixed terms and establishing a special class and extended terms for violent offenders. The Department of Correction is collecting data to determine the effect of this proposal on the inmate population. The appendix presents a chart that compares the provisions of State determinate sentencing laws. Twenty-four footnotes are provided. (Author summary modified)