NCJ Number
117403
Journal
Judges' Journal Volume: 28 Issue: 1 Dated: (Winter 1989) Pages: 16-19,44-47
Date Published
1989
Length
8 pages
Annotation
Although the Federal sentencing guidelines provide for incarceration for the majority of offenses and require the judge to explain departures from the guidelines at the time of sentencing, judges can continue to take advantage of the available alternatives to prison by granting permissible downward departures from guideline-mandated prison terms.
Abstract
The sentencing guidelines have the legitimate aims of making sentencing rational, providing more uniformity, and requiring courts to explain sentences. However, they should not be applied rigidly to every individual, because they ignore the real inequalities of individuals and situations. A departure from the guidelines is permitted when a defendant has cooperated or factors are present that the United States Sentencing Commission did not consider. These factors include the good that a defendant has done, the defendant's loss of a job, extreme illness of a child, the defendant's illness or age, the defendant's leadership role in the community, the defendant's business as a means of livelihood for others, and rehabilitation following the crime. Thus, courts should consider the alternative sentences of halfway houses, home detention, intensive probation supervision, community service, treatment programs, drug testing, work with religious institutions, day prisons, restitution, and heavy fines. 20 references.