Reforming Federal Sentencing Guidelines: A Modest Proposal

• NCJ Number: 232697
• Journal: Victims & Offenders Volume: 5 Issue: 3 Dated: July 2010 Pages: 220-232
• Author(s): James M. Byrne; Susan Turner
• Date Published: July 2010
• Length: 13 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Issue Overview
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: For additional articles in this special issue see NCJ-232695-96 and NCJ-232698-701.

Annotation

This article examines community-based sentencing.

Abstract

This article examines the use of community-based sentencing options within Federal sentencing guidelines and offers specific recommendations for expanding the use of these sanctions. The authors begin by describing how the types of offenders and types of crimes prosecuted in our Federal court system have changed since the passage of the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984. The authors then examine how various types of alternative sanctionsprobation, probation and confinement, and prison/community split sentencesare currently being used in conjunction with Federal sentencing guidelines in the sentencing of this new generation of Federal offenders. The authors consider the issue of whether specific changes in sentencing guidelines are needed to increase the use of alternative sanctions and reduce post-Booker guideline departures. The study concludes by estimating the impact of both sentencing guidelines reform and community-based program reform on public safety and the cost of corrections. (Published Abstract)