NCJ Number
163980
Journal
Corrections Compendium Volume: 21 Issue: 7 Dated: (July 1996) Pages: 8-19
Date Published
1996
Length
12 pages
Annotation
A survey on sentencing guidelines revealed that 19 of the 48 responding States currently have sentencing guidelines, while other guidelines are either under consideration or in some stage of development in seven other States.
Abstract
The survey also received responses from five Canadian systems. Twenty-one States do not use sentencing guidelines, nor do they report any current proposals for their development. A plurality of States establish guidelines within the framework within the context of State law. Features of sentencing guidelines vary considerably across jurisdiction. In most cases, guidelines appear to be designed in most cases to increase the punishment factor for perpetrators of certain crimes, to reduce sentencing disparity, and to increase the certainty of punishment for offenses deemed most destructive to society. Some States include alternatives to incarceration in sentencing guidelines. Fifty-five percent of the respondents indicated that the imposition of sentencing guidelines has increased the inmate population or is expected to do so. All participants who expressed an opinion reported that they regard their State's sentencing guidelines as an improvement over past sentencing policy. Notes and tables