Progress Report on the North Carolina Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission

• NCJ Number: 150656
• Journal: Wake Forest Law Review Volume: 28 Issue: 2 Dated: (Summer 1993) Pages: 421- 461
• Author(s): R F Wright; S P Ellis
• Date Published: 1993
• Length: 41 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

The Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission Act of 1990 has begun to transform criminal sentencing in North Carolina by creating a sentencing commission and reforming the sentencing process.

Abstract

The Sentencing and Policy Advisory Commission (SPAC) has consistently dealt with politically charged issues, such as reliance on incarceration versus other sanctions, proper sentencing objectives in different contexts, and division of labor between State and local programs, in terms of resources rather than in terms of principles. The SPAC's experience casts some doubt on the notion that sentencing systems can evolve as one State after another develops structured sentencing models. Efforts to reform sentencing in North Carolina are addressed in relation to the Fair Sentencing Act, comprehensive community-based punishment, and mandatory sentencing. The genesis and work of the SPAC and its enabling legislation are described, and distinctive features of sentencing politics in North Carolina are noted. 174 footnotes and 1 figure