NCJ Number
119873
Date Published
1980
Length
120 pages
Annotation
A committee formed by the Montana legislature to study corrections policy and needs for correctional facilities has found that the Montana State Prison does not currently need additional beds and that residential alternatives outside the prison should be considered if the prison population increases.
Abstract
In addition, work rehabilitation and job training should be considered as worthwhile alternatives. The committee considered drafts of 16 bills related to sentencing and toured the major State correctional facilities. It concluded that the State should make a major commitment to adult probation and parole and that the legislature should consider the Correctional Needs Report from the State Department of Institutions. It also recommended that plea bargaining be an open process with a written record, that the State be allowed to request an appellate review of a legal or a deferred sentence, and that the maximum period for deferred imposition of a sentence for a felony be increased from 3 to 5 years. Other recommendations included allowing community service as a condition of deferred or suspended sentences, increasing the punishment of persons convicted of three separate felonies, increasing the period of time served before an offender is eligible for parole, and creating a corrections board of visitors. Footnotes, appended texts of draft legislation, and 62 references.