NCJ Number
128216
Journal
Prison Journal Volume: 80 Issue: 1 Dated: (Spring-Summer 1990) Pages: 125-127
Date Published
1990
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The US criminal justice system appears to be moving from a rehabilitative to a retributive model, with more defendants emerging from the system with sentences to serve. The age of the offender is one factor that is rarely considered in sentencing guidelines.
Abstract
The author argues that the impact of uniform sentencing is unjust in that older and younger offenders are sentenced to spend unequal segments of their life expectancy in prison. While some juries may acquit older defendants as an act of mercy, this does not comprise a humanistic approach to criminal justice. Rather, this proposal recommends imposing sentences that are a set proportion of the years the offenders have left to live. The handling of juvenile offenders provides a precedent for sentencing based on age.