Impact of the Minnesota Sentencing Guidelines on Sentencing Practices

• NCJ Number: 88826
• Journal: Hamline Law Review Volume: 5 Issue: 2 Dated: (June 1982) Pages: 237-256
• Author(s): K A Knapp
• Date Published: 1982
• Length: 20 pages
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

A preliminary analysis of sentencing practices before and after implementation of the Minnesota sentencing guidelines examines the impact of guideline policy on sentencing practices, uniformity in sentencing, proportionality in sentencing, and severity of sentences and the neutrality of social factors in sentencing.

Abstract

The guidelines embody the following principles: (1) sentencing should be neutral with respect to the race, gender, social, or economic status of convicted felons; (2) the severity of sanctions should increase in direct proportion to increases in the severity of criminal offenses and the severity of criminal histories of convicted felons; (3) sanctions used in sentencing convicted felons should be the least restrictive necessary to achieve the purposes of the sentence; and (4) departures from the presumptive sentences should occur only when substantial and compelling circumstances exit. Prior to the guidelines, about 62 percent of prison commitments were property offenders and about 32 percent were sentenced for person offenses. Following enactment of the guidelines, about 49 percent of imprisonments were for property offenses and 46 percent were for person offenses. Overall, State uniformity in imprisonment practices has increased, and proportionality in sentencing (the imposition of more severe sanctions for more serious offenses and offenders) appears to be occurring under the guidelines. After the implementation of the sentencing guidelines, minority offenders received more severe sanctions than white offenders, but the cause of this has not been determined. Women were found to receive somewhat less severe sentences than men for similar crimes, and the unemployed in every racial group were sentenced more harshly than the employed. The study also examined the impact of the guidelines on court processing, plea negotiations, and the use of jails and workhouses for sentenced felons.